Sorry, no Monkeys today...

We were busy planting our very first veggie garden. I have a new post for you tomorrow, and we'll do the monkeys on Monday!

Till then, Enjoy the warm day!

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I have been sorely MIA...

If you recall, last I posted was just as we were coming on Easter, and I hope everyone had a good one. We also had a birthday party here on the 11th, and an out of state guest. Still, the absence is inexcusable.

To make up for it, instead of putting up a post of yarn, fiber, or fabulous UFO's, I'll start us back up with some fun photos that exhibit what we have been doing with ourselves here for the last couple weeks.

We have spent quite a few days at the local park, just a couple blocks away. Its great fun for the Beeba 1.

But Beeba 2 prefers to stay in our own backyard, and have a swing with her big brother.

I'll post more tomorrow, with some up to date Yarn Everyday Pics, and who knows, maybe even a further in progress shot of the Monkey Socks.

Till then, Keep having fun!

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Waiting... and Sleep Issues

Yes, Waiting... My Ladybug wheel is due to arrive home today. Knowing UPS, it probably won't get here till late afternoon, but it doesn't stop me from being all antsy about it... I just can't be patient, this close to it being here.

And the DH is completely "fibered out" he doesn't want to hear anything fiber related... at all. Oh well.

On other fronts, we are shifting out of co-sleeping mode. For many reasons, we choose to co-sleep with our children when they are infants. they sleep better, we sleep better, and we feel it protects them. I know it does, because I have seen both my children stop breathing at night, and a light breath from me immediately gets them going again. For that reason alone I will never put a newborn in a crib.

But, as they get older, well.... we moved Beeba 1 to a twin mattress on the floor at about 1 year. it took 2-3 weeks, and he was fine. within 2 months, he slept through the night. We moved him because he was kicking us at night too much, and I was having terrible back pains.

Beeba 2 is not a year yet, but we are also working slightly differently with her. She has recently gotten into standing in the middle of the night and dive-bombing herself to sleep on us. and them sleeping anyway she falls. That isn't comfortable for us (I wound up sleeping halfway in her sidecar-ed crib multiple times), and we don't feel its safe for her, especially with the winter blankets still on the bed.

So, we are trying something new. we didn't move the crib, it is still right next to the bed. But we put the 4th side up. after a reasonable nursing session (which ends when she starts crawling on me), I put her in her crib, complete with a couple little animals (they are small, and though stuffed are not super soft, so not a hazard as far as I can see) and she must rest.

I am less than 6 inches from her right now. I can stick my hands into the crib through the bars and hold her hand, or rub her belly.

Right now, she is getting mad about it though. she cries, but not the, "I'm hurt" or "I'm scared" cries, its the, "I'm not getting my way" cry. Yes, at almost 11 months old, she most certainly has a very distinct sound to this particular cry.

Saturday was the first night. I think neither of us slept much. at 2 or 3 in the morning, after she had slept some in the crib, I was too tired to keep fighting. she came into the bed with me.

Last night, at 2-3 am again, she came into the bed.

But, we are making progress. It was easier to get her to sleep in the first place last night. and when she does better with going down, I will try to be more consistent with the late night coming into the bed. Eventually, we'll move the crib a few inches away, then a few more... and eventually, though not probably for a few months yet, right into her own room.

And I know we will all sleep better. I know that her brother did not start to take regular naps till after he was in his own bed. and she has started fighting sleep during the day, instead of falling asleep often as she did for so long. Her need for naps was another big push that led us to do this.

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She Walked!

Beeba 2, that is. Not far, mind you, but she did. She took 2 steps all by herself yesterday. Aren't you proud of her?

Mow back to your regular scheduled programming.

Preveiws Up for the next Stocking...

... and I really hope that everyone likes them. I like them, and my 2 year old likes them, lol, but you know, I am never really sure.

So here they are:

Earthy Princess
2 - 4oz+ braids of Wool/Mohair Top


and

Salt Water Taffy
1 - 4oz+ braid of Wool/Mohair Top


I have been fighting with timing and the weather to get good pics, so today while it had stopped raining for a bit, I rushed out to the porch, the Beeba 2 strapped to my chest, camera and fibers in hand. I'm glad I did, too, since now the wind has picked up a bit, enough that I think they would have blown away on me.

Poor Sick baby here

Which means no great posting today. Sorry folks. Please wish my Beeba 2 some feel better fast vibes, as I know she hates having the yuckies as much as I hate her having them.

Happy Holidays!

The Holidays are here, and everywhere we find christmas music, glitter, mistletoe, and garlands. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanuckah, Kwanzaa, or some otherr holiday I apologize for not knowing of, it is a time for celebration, laughing children, and often frustrated parents.

New Toys abound in our house, due to our Thanksgiving trip to NC, where we celebrated christmas early with family who won't be here next week. This afternoon, the smell of baking cookies will rise in my house, and Saturday, we celebrate christmas again with DH's Brother and his family. Then the smells of turkey and stuffing will be wafting around my kitchen.

My Birthday is next week too. I will be 27... and as my DH reminded me, I am older than he was when we met, I must be getting old... I feel it, too... but in a good way. We have a lot to be glad for this holiday season. We have 2 beautiful healthy children, we own our home, DH has a good steady job when many do not, and while we cannot always buy everything we want when we want it, we do have everything we need.

This year, We tried to buy toys for the kids that encourage imagination... not that they need the encouragement... Beeba 1 loves trains, and in his mind, anything can become one. He will look at rain on a window and find a train, or at the clouds. Beeba 2 is growing fast, and can get into anything she tries for, with little effort. She is trying to pull up to a stand now, too, and sometimes succeeds.

So, to my friends, family, customers, and readers, I wish you a Happy Holiday, whichever you celebrate!

Thanksgiving travels; GCDH Drawing; Happy Holidays

Well, Thanksgiving is done. My family and I traveled 12 hours each way down to NC to visit My dad and sisters. We had lots of fun, and did an early Christmas celebration with them too. The Beebas both got entirely spoiled, and really, so did my husband and I...

Beeba 1 is happily driving me crazy today with his new Drum set... Beeba 2 is just so worn out she is sleeping all morning in my lap... and the car was so loaded, that all of us but my husband the driver had things on our laps... even the almost 7month old Beeba 2.

I of course had the diaperbag, and all the trip snacks all over my lap. Beeba 1 had jackets and coats on his feet, which he hated... it frustrated him more than anything that he could not kick all around.

Evan little Beeba 2... she had her brand new and very first dolly on her lap, along with 2 teddy bears, 2 blankets, and who knows what other little toys. Between them sat the large box of Beeba 1's new Drum set... so they could not see each other, and with the piles in the car, I could barely see either one of them if I tried.

I heard the line "well, what do you want to do about it?" a lot when I worried about the over-packed situation.

In the meantime, I got a new cell phone, as an ongoing birthday/Christmas present, and as such will be changing my contact info for the web-shops to reflect that change.


On the business end of things, The 2008 Great Cloth Diaper Hunt has come to a close. I hope everyone has enjoyed the hunt. For those who have entered into our mini hunt drawing, I will be drawing a winner as soon as we finish getting settled back home. Meaning, it will be this week, but give me a few days. I will notify the winner through email as well as here on the blog by Saturday afternoon.

Happy holidays to all. Watch in the near future for more great sales and promotions from Beeba Bottoms!

I've been Distracted

Hello. Sorry I haven't posted in a little while.... I've been a little distracted. The weather is getting cooler here, and we are getting busier. Despite now being a one car family, which in itself is not a horrendouse thing, we have been running around what seems like an awful lot.

Beeba 2 is being baptized later this month... and for that, we have family coming from out of state. of course, most of that family will be staying with us. so not only do we need to neaten/re-organize/clean our downstairs of our house for the day of the baptism, we need to do something with upstairs, to alleviate the clutter there.

And with the cold weather comes cold drafts through our old windows, and the need to turn on the heat. Of course, knowing what heat cost us last winter, we have been afraid to turn it on, lol. But... it had to be done. We spent the day yesterday putting plastic on the windows upstairs. we got 2 rooms done, (5 windows) and have 5 windows left upstairs to do. my hubby put better insulation on our back door, but didn't account for it taking so much, so he needs to get more for the front door. and we are debating putting plastic up, as much as it would be ugly, on the windows and doors downstairs too. cause if it could save us on our heating bills this winter, it would be worth it. we may postpone that till after the baptism and party, though.

Both the Beebas are growing. Beeba 1 finally calls his sister by her name, instead of simply "baby"... and Beeba 2 sits up on her own now... for about 30 seconds to a minute at a time. She loves to make lots of fun sounds now, too. And Beeba 1 is finally trying a little harder with his potty learning, so maybe we'll have just one in diapers soon? Its about time, he's 2 and a half... most of his friends, some 6+ months younger, are fully out of diapers now.... even nights for several.

Meantime, I am getting more busy for business too. I have an order to fill of 15 diapers and 6 covers... and possibly another order of embroidery too. not sure on that one. its a good thing, though I'll be super busy for a while. (no spinning for me for the next few days, lol) Those orders will fund our trip to see my dad for Thanksgiving.

And, the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt is coming up. As you know, Beeba Bottoms is sponsoring this year... so I hope it all goes great!

Home School Preschool

So, Beeba 1 is almost 2 and a half, and I have been thinking about trying to insert just a bit of structure into his education. He likes to sing and play with blocks and alphabet letters, and to color and draw, So being that those are all things preschoolers do, I figured I'd find a preschool curriculum for him.

Well, While I was thinking of that, one of the members of The Mom Pack (an online group of MOM Business women I belong to--- you can find their banner on any of my websites, including this one) came to the group asking for a few people to try her new preschool curriculum, in exchange for some exposure and some feedback. It was a match made in heaven. (which makes sense since her curriculum is christian based.

You can find her Curriculum at www.sonbeams.com

I figure, We'll try it, see how Beeba 1 responds, and blog about it, both to chart his progress (and give me accountability for teaching him) and to grant her some small bit of exposure.

Today we Started, week 1, Day 1. It really is meant to be Monday through Friday, but that's the beauty of homeschooling, you can do it whenever you want. I have a feeling we'll repeat the first day a couple of times, anyway...

Beeba 1 loved the idea of practicing the letter of the day on his chalkboard... but is as of yet unable to make a letter without mommy helping. Makes sense. I mostly let him just color, and when he asked me to help make the letter, I did.

We Introduced a scripture of the week, and a color, and a number, too. we did not get any further than that today, but that's OK. I think we did OK for a start.

The curriculum looks very interesting, though I need to read more of it still... it will be better for him when I have everything ready and don't need to check the paper between every activity.

and just for fun, I was playing with photoshop last night... here are a couple pics of Beeba 2... see which is your favorite. (hint, they are the same pic)


Have a happy day!

The Aftermath...

... Of not so spring Cleaning, that is... heh... When my husband realized he had yesterday off, he decided this weekend would be a "do things around the house" day. Worked out for me... I feel like I got a whole new Sewing room, all over again.

I had been talking about putting a bookshelf in the under-utilized corner. Before, we had a secretary's desk there, but it just didn't have any point in this room. Unfortunately, as pretty as it was, it kept being used only as a small inefficient catch-all.

So he cleaned up the desk, and brought it out into the living room. I finally hung sheers up under our curtains, which makes the room feel much nicer, and worked on re-organizing my storage spaces.

He brought down the bookshelf, and this morning I went to Walmart and got a couple clear boxes with lids, which fit perfectly, 2 per shelf... I'll have to get more later for the rest of the shelves. I also found an Ironing board for $10! I had a small counter top board, but was always frustrated with it, because it was always too small.

but I found I also got shelves for behind my sewing machine.th I couldn't find the wire cubes I was thinking of...these little shelves that fit there, and they were actually half the price! I am satisfied... and I discovered that by moving my desk lamp up to the top of the shelves, I get lots more light, and don't need to have the overhead on nearly as often.

I cleared the top of my storage dresser, and found homes for everything that was there. That was a lot of work... I didn't realize how much stuff there was!

The desktop computer area is still a mess, but that is more of my husband's space, rather than mine... so I'll let him handle it. Now if only I didn't have to go over there and use the printer and my thumb drive every time I want to upload pictures!

So that's what we did yesterday. Today, I put up the shelves behind my sewing machine, and am working on an order. Its almost done, needs snaps, a last piece of elastic, and the backs serged up for each diaper... that won't take too long.

Meantime, don't forget, Until tomorrow, you can still save 10% off your orders with the code 4th at checkout!

To Rearrange, or not to Rearrange?

Heh. I just finished showing off my workspace,although I suppose really that was more about my machines, and I am already thinking about how I can re-arrange it. more specifically, make it more efficient. As it is, On the side of the room I didn't show, I have piles of fabric, and I can't even Iron because the Iron is all covered up. I have dead space behind my machines on my desk, and an underutilized cornier of the room.

So, my thoughts: Get one or two systems like this one. Stack them only 2 or 3 High. (I think thought that if you stack 2 high, you can only get one full cube from the other pieces in the set, so I am thinking 2 sets stacked 3 high.

One stack would be put in the back corner of my sewing desk, behind my sewing machine. It would hold, on the bottom cube: Stabilizers and Embroidery disks. maybe a binder if I print out my embroidery designs into a paper catalog... but not sure on that one.

Above that in the second cube would be Embroidery Blanks. Things that don't need to be cut. (things that need to be cut are better off being closer to the cutting area.)

The Third Cube would hold either more embroidery Blanks (which eventually I am sure I will accumulate) or I don't know what. On top of the third cube, I'd like to get a clock of some kind... something cute and fun.

Across the room, I would like to put a second stack. That would be on the table that houses our desktop computer. In that one, I would re-organize our computer paper, software, and etc. My Husband has a lot of games that take up space, it would be a good place for it.

Then, I'd like to bring down a bookshelf... we have one like this one only brown up in our spare room... unused. The only problem is, its pretty tall, and our toddler runs around in this room... we'd need to anchor it to the wall... and my husband does not want to do that.

but, if it got brought down, it would find its home in the under utilized corner. I would like to use the top shelf for accounts (paper copies of sales and etc), patterns, etc. Depending how much space was there, I would like to keep a basket of some kind for extra notions and things.

The rest of the shelves I would like to fill with plastic bins. The kind with locking lids. Each bin would have specific things.... finished products that are stocked on etsy, on beebabottoms.com, things that aren't stocked, items that are part of in-progress orders, etc. Then I can dedicate the drawers those things are in now to what they were originally meant for... more fabric!

I keep re-organizing this room... trouble is, with Beeba 1 running and playing in here, it gets a mess again in no time. I have to keep his little table here too... for him to color at, or do crafts of his own. And the swing for Beeba 2 stays too. And the toys Beeba 1 drags in... hmmmm... will my space every really be organized and efficient? for more than a day?

Diapering on the Go, or How our Hot Mama proved a point.

When I was pregnant with Beeba 2, My mother in law told me she was going to get me a gift. She said she wanted to make life easy for me, and so she wanted to buy me something to make it easier. So what did she insist on buying? DISPOSABLE DIAPERS. Yuck. Now, I am not against Sposies for people who need them. But I don't need them. I make and sell cloth diapers, for goodness sake.

She tried to tell me how hard it would be to launder them all the time. I proved that within days after Beeba 2 was born. Her next tactic was the on the go tagline. She thought it would be impossible to fit cloth diapers for both kids for an afternoon in my diaper bag. and that it would be impossibly heavy to do.

well, we proved her wrong a few weeks ago, and at her own house. It was really hot, and with our then 2 week old baby, we did not want to stay at our warmer than liked house. So, we called up and asked if we could come over and cool off in her air conditioning.

i packed enough diapers for an army in my Hot Mama Bag. I loaded up on wipes, filling my new Wipes Case (which will be available on my store site in the near future) and filling every poscket of the diaper bag with diapers. Enough small and newborn diapers for a 12 hour period (with a child who wets every 2 minutes, it seems) and 6 Large diapers for my 2 year old, since we never seem to know from day to day with him how many he'll need. I had an extra blanket in there, and an extra outfit for the baby. And 3 Wet Bags. And a bunch of covers. Plus the changing pad that matches the bag.

We used most of the diapers, by the way... thats just how my kids function, apparently. and I swear, they both wet more when we are away from home.

The diaper bag closed nicely, a little bulging, but more than sufficient. And when we got to her house, She had more things to give me, old clothes that were my husband's as a baby. (why she didn't give us these things when Beeba 1 (the boy) was smaller, I don't know... but that is beside the point.

The point is, we had more than enough diapers, and the bag was not overflowing, nor was it uncomfortable to carry. All the extras she sent us home with fit in the bag too. WE DID NOT NEED SPOSIES. This was a point I had been trying to make to her for some time. I think she might have finally gotten it. When I refused to take home more than one small bag of sposies she had gifted, back just before Beeba 2 was born, I swear she thought I was crazy. I think she was a little insulted, too.

But my kids don't need sposies. They do better in cloth. (so far as I know. Beeba 1 had bad rashes in sposies, Beeba 2 has never worn a sposie, so I don't know how she would do.)

I added some pics of my Hot Mama bag here. They are not pics of that day, at the time I was not thinking about blogging them, just show off pics I took when I first sewed it up. This is so far proving though to be the best diaper bag I have had... and I have had a few.

And sorry, I cannot find this fabric again. When I originally showed the bag to some friends, I had several people ask me to make them one. Its why I now offer custom Hot Mama's on my website. But they wanted the EXACT SAME FABRIC. Unfortunately, It happened to be clearance fabric, and is now gone, un-findable at my fabric stores. Personally, I don't have a problem with that, as I like the thought of these all being one of a kind. Don't you?

Girls Day Out

So today, I took Beeba 2 up to Ithaca with a friend and her daughter. We had a great time. We visited this cute shop called Mama Goose, which is a kind of a children's consignment store/natural children's stuff store. They have a whole section of cloth diapers, which is really awesome, as they are to my knowledge the only local store (semi local, since they are about an hour from me, lol) . They had Mother-ease diapers, and some bamboo ones, and hemp ones... and lots of prefolds and flats. I have to say, I was kind of surprised at the brand-name diapers.... I thought they would be better or something, since all I really have experience with is WAHM diapers, like mine... but... they were no better than mine or any other WAHM diaper I have seen. and not nearly as cute.

What I thought was really cool was that they also were carying a local WAHM's work... in fact, several, throughout the store... but for the diapers in particular, it was awesome that I know the mama from the Diaper Sewing Divas Forum, which we are both members of.

Anyway, since I make my own diapers, I just bought a pack of Flats (for research, lol... then I can say I have tried every type of cloth diaper.) and a baby gate and we left.

We walked the Commons, too, and checked out lots of other stores, and I really have to say, I like Ithaca. Its a cool town. Now, if the day had only been just a little cooler, lol.

We found a little Yarn and Fabric store too. That was an awesome find. I have a limited budget right now, or I could have gone wile in there. There were some really cool knit prints. I did buy a few. Pics tommorrow.

We made a stop at GreenStar, too. its a natural CoOp market. Practically everything in there is organic, and I swear, if I could afford it, I would shop there for everything. alas, we have essentially the same budget as we had two years ago, and two more kids, lol. Our budget does not allow for purely organic shopping.

There's a Thunderstorm heading our way, so I'd better log off, I'm tired anyway. sad part of that is in a thunderstorm I don't dare have the sewing machines on either, with them being so expensive and our house being a prime target for lightening (we got hit last summer) I can't afford to risk them.