31 Days of Pinterest, Day #1: Cleaning the Shower. Borax and Magic Eraser

When I first joined Pinterest, I have to admit I didn't get what all the fuss was about. Once I joined, all of a sudden people started "following" me. I still didn't get it. After poking around a bit, I started to get the hang of it. I discovered the coolness that is Pinterest. Like a friend said, it is like shopping without spending money. I love pinning. I collect recipes, cleaning tips, craft projects, and home decorating ideas. I have about five different theme parties in the works. I will probably never be able to realize all of them before the kids start picking their own themes, but a lady can dream.

I have now come to realize the danger that is Pinterest. Spending so much time repinning and not taking any time to actually use the good ideas that I have found. I have decided that I need to redeem my time spent on Pinterest by trying out the various tips and tricks. I want to try 31 pins. They may or may not be on consecutive days. I am setting no strict timeline. I am giving myself a pass on this one and will be happy to just accomplish any goal. The easiest and most practical to start off with is cleaning. I am in search of effective natural/non toxic cleaning solutions. Let me just say, since having the babies, it has been a constant struggle to clean the house. I am in process of establishing a routine but that is another post entirely.

My shower has been needing some attention for a while. It was in a dire disgusting condition hence no before pictures. I have too much pride, or perhaps shame, to post that. Which then rules out the need for after pics as well, nothing to compare it to so what is the point?! We'll see, maybe I will be so thrilled that I will want to show off my sparkling shower stall.

The first cleaning recommendation I decided to try was Borax. It is simple, cheap and has been around forever. I used it to scrub the shower floor. I have to say it worked as well if not better than a bleach based scouring powder. I was impressed with how easily the grime was removed and with minimal effort. In the end, there was a bit of muck left in the crevices of the patterned shower floor. It would have come up with a bit of elbow grease, but I wanted to find the easiest way to remove it. I decided to try a "Magic Eraser" on this remaining stuff. It came up easily. This is awesome because even with Comet, I have to scrub those crevices with a toothbrush to get them clean. I am impressed. Effective cleaning with no fumes. I guess technically this is two tips, but I'm sure my boards are overflowing with ideas and I will have a surplus to try. I am looking forward to possibly having a clean house in the end.

Our Little Ladybug

I wanted to make a ladybug costume for our baby girl. I figured a regular pattern made with a print that resembled a ladybug would work. I used McCalls pattern 5610. It was fairly easy to make, although I realized that my garment making skills were rusty. I learned some things and plan on sewing more clothes for this little peanut. I will get plenty of practice. I had read some reviews of the pattern that said the bloomers were too puffy. I found them delightful, super cute and yes, puffy. Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of the bloomers. I love that this is more of a pants and top outfit as opposed to a dress and panty. From what I hear, dresses are a real frustration when it comes to crawling. Baby girl isn't crawling yet but will be soon enough. This top is short enough to stay out of the way while crawling and yet frilly enough to be girly. I will be making this pattern again.

I started this pattern at the beginning of October and should have made the next size up. By the time Halloween arrived, I had to squeeze the little miss into the top. She looked adorable. The antennae, purchased from the pet department, really made the costume.

The Boy's Garbage Truck Costume

I am not an innovator. Every time I think I have an original idea, one Google search shows that 5 other people had the idea before me. Such is the case with my son's Halloween costume. You see, he is obsessed with “trash trucks”. I thought, why not make a garbage truck costume for him. A quick internet search showed me several examples of what I was aiming for. Glue gun in hand and a large selection of cardboard boxes, I got started. Once I found the properly proportioned cardboard box, the hopper portion of the truck was really simple to shape. To create the beveled edges of the hopper, I used the pre existing creases that form the box bottom and top. I cut a couple inches off each flap, both top and bottom, to make more space for the torso and the legs.

One of the outstanding Google-garbage-truck-costume-pioneers had drawn diagrams of their costume design and shared it on their blog. While I didn't use their method for the hopper, I did follow their pattern for the cab and the built-out portion of the hopper back. I figured, why reinvent the wheel? Especially when that one looked awesome. My husband had the idea to use plastic from a toy package for the windows and windshield. I think the effect is really stunning. I had planned to paint the logos but I ran out of time and ended up printing the WM decals and I found the MACK grill again, thanks to Google. I could have gotten more detailed but again, I ran out of time. The entire costume was made from things we had around the house, except for the paint. In the end. My little guy wasn't over-the-moon with the idea of wearing the costume. He willingly wore it to take pictures and get candy. The toy trash cans, bought on Amazon, really made the costume more appealing to the little guy. I glued a bag in the trash truck in the space behind where the boy was meant to stand. The idea was that he would collect candy in the little can and then dump it over his head and pour the candy into the hopper. THIS aspect of the costume was a hit. Ultimately, I was really surprised by this lack of enthusiasm considering he loves to pretend to be a trash truck. He sets up buckets in the yard and runs a “route” picking up trash. He even makes sound effects complete with hydraulic hisses and beeping when he backs up. It really doesn't matter, because I had so much fun making this costume. It is the first creative project I have done in a while.

Comic Con report 2011 Baby Wearing Rocks

Comic Con was different this year. It was busy and not 100% fun. I think the preregistration for 2012 being such a fiasco tainted the whole weekend. Alas, we got our tickets for next year with a lot of effort from dear hubby. Looking back, I did enjoy myself and have mostly positive memories and I can't wait for next year.

This was the second year that we brought the baby. Last year he was only 7 weeks old. If you have been to Comic Con, you know that pushing a stroller around is next to impossible. I really feel sorry for those folks with strollers or wheelchairs for that matter. The husband ran into a couple with a newborn in a stroller. He was telling them about bringing our guy when he was about the same age. He told them that we had worn the baby. The wife indicated that she had wanted to do the same but her husband didn't like the idea. The obvious and in my opinion, only option at Comic Con is baby wearing. Getting around is so much easier and having the little one close so that you can check in with them is awesome. Baby got his best naps while being worn around the show floor. He found the hotel room too interesting and couldn't relax enough to sleep. I noticed that most every other conventioneer with a baby/toddler had the same idea. I saw a lot of Ergos, a few Bjorns, a Moby and one person with a Beco Gemini. Hubby and I have a Beco Butterfly 2. (Last year we alternated between the BB2 and the Moby.) Here are a couple shots from last year.

I was still learning how to use the Moby at the time, I realize now that if I had spread the fabric over my shoulders, it would have been way more comfortable. The wrap was a challenge to use with a newborn, especially one that hated to be confined. Eventually, the Moby had its place in our life, mostly at parties when I wanted to be able to get baby in and out of the carrier with ease. The Beco Butterfly 2 has been our favorite.

What a year it has been

I'm sure many a new mom feels that way after the first year with a baby. So much is a blur and I would love to get as much detail recorded as possible, before things become blurrier. I had hoped to blog more about this first year as a mom but frankly I was way too overwhelmed and tired. I need to really sit down with a pad and paper and think about the important experiences I want to preserve. Time keeps right on ticking.

I am at a crossroad and even though so much has changed, there are more changes looming on the horizon. Things I haven't really wrapped my head around yet. The main issue weighing heavily on my heart is being a working mom. Before baby, I had never really invisioned myself as a SAHM, nor did I imagine that I would have the desire to stay home. Now present-life-with-baby, I find the idea of staying home the optimum choice. My parents were able to watch Little Guy when I returned to work last year which was a huge blessing. I didn't have to search out daycares. I am now on Summer break and get to experience the daily joys and struggles of being an at home mommy and I like it and yet I hesitate.

In all honesty, I am afraid. My fears are all the regular ones that many women have who struggle with this decision. I am afraid of giving up a part of me and losing the security of a decent paying job with great benefits. So much to ponder and pray about.

More sewing for baby: My first quilt

I decided I wanted to make a quilt for baby. I went online and searched for "free easy baby quilt pattern". I got several great results but ultimately settled on the Urban Baby quilt by Valori Wells.



I used various space and robot themed fabrics. It is definitely a crazy quilt. Sewing together the top was fairly easy, it was doing the "sandwich" and actual quilting that was challenging. I was glad that the blanket was relatively small. For the quilting, I tried to "stitch in the ditch" on the the sewing machine. It was so hard to stay in between the seams and it started to look messy. I was getting so frustrated until I decided to switch to a pretty zig-zag stitch. I'm sure this isn't the proper way to quilt, but it served my purpose. I also machine stitched the binding. I am really satisfied with how that turned out. I wasn't sure how to do a proper mitered corner but just kind of played with it until it worked.

Prepping the Baby's Room

.

We've been busy around here preparing for our little one's arrival. We painted his room blue. I had initially wanted something less obvious for a boy but ultimately decided that blue matched the fabric I had picked out and he would be able to grow with the color. I sewed two bed skirts, one for the crib and one for the day bed that will remain in his room for the time being. I used the pattern from Amy Butler's book, Little Stitches for Little Ones. It was easy and I am happy with the results.

I also felt the need to do some fabric dying. The largest project was the chair cover. We had a red Tulsta chair from Ikea. I bought a white slip cover and some orange RIT dye. I used a large plastic tub that we have around to put drinks and ice during parties.

I was nervous to use my wash machine because I had heard that it can stain the tub and I wasn't sure of the results as I have some "fancy" HE washer that doesn't fill with water until you close the lid, which then locks unless you push pause, in which case all the water then drains out. I had great results using the large plastic tub and hot water. I kept the fabric in the dye for an hour. Technically you are supposed to stir the fabric for 30 mins but this was too much for my back. I did stir it in 5 minute intervals with no set pattern. I tried to keep all of the fabric submerged for the whole hour.
At first, I was concerned that the color might be too bright. Now that I have lived with it a while and see how it works in the room, I am satisfied. I had such success with the slip cover, I decided to dye the white duvet cover for the day bed a nice apple green. The color couldn't have been more perfect.
All in all, I am more than pleased with how baby's room came together. I can't wait to show it to him.



The posters we found online from The Land of Nod. The crib is the Gulliver in birch from Ikea. It got great reviews online. I love the small foot print and that it comes with everything needed to convert to a toddler bed. The price was nice too, about $150.