Hot Tubs

I'm thankful for hot tubs.  I'm also rather grateful for heated pools.

What a Day at Disney with My Girls Looks Like

These pictures are only from a couple of moments from today, but the whole day yesterday and today was pretty much like this.  I love the stamina my girls have.  After all day yesterday at Magic Kingdom, the bear cub had no problem dancing in the street with the parade until they marched right out of there.

Texting

I forgot to post yesterday and so I'm posting another thankful post today.  I'm thankful that I don't have a smart phone or texting.  We're having so much fun at Disney and I can't help but notice the unhappy faces on all the people that are having to check their phones.  I already feel like a phone is basically an electronic leash and I'm glad that it doesn't have any power over me or my hubby or my mom.

The Sitter

I'm thankful for having such a conscientious baby and pet sitter.  I'm glad that she calls when she has any questions or I forgot to put something in my note that I told her verbally.  I know my puppies are being taken care of and aren't in a kennel and that makes me very happy.

Packing

I'm grateful that my family all just stays out of the way and lets me pack anything and everything.  I love not having to convince people that I'm not refusing out of politeness.  I also am thankful that my mom and Q, both somewhat controlling people, have enough faith in my ability to do a good job that they even brag about my packing ability.  It makes traveling so much less stressful for me.

Rest Stops

I'm thankful for Texas rest stops.  They are always clean and well-kept and have decent parking separate for cars and trucks.  When we traveled through Arkansas, this was NOT true, and half the ones in Arkansas weren't even open.

There are two kinds of rest stops:  Texas Travel Information Centers and Safety Rest Areas. The Travel Information Centers have maps and local info, restrooms, picnic areas, water fountains, vending machines, and wireless internet (though I've not yet had an opportunity to use that).

The Safety Rest Areas are even better.  While they don't have wireless internet, they do have a myriad of other things:

  Air-conditioned and heated restrooms, as well as an assisted-use restroom
  Larger parking areas, with separated areas for cars and commercial trucks
  Information areas for weather and road conditions, maps, traffic-safety and upcoming regional events
  Office space for law-enforcement personnel
  Enhanced security, including surveillance cameras
  Tornado shelters
  Walking and interpretive trails
  Play areas for kids

It's just another reason that I love Texas.

Laundry

I'm grateful for having a big kitchen.  Because I had to clean all the counter tops for Thanksgiving I had room to put all my laundry.  I usually do my laundry and fold and organize it on my bed.  I do this because it forces me to put it away before I go to bed and otherwise it will sit around for a long time before I get to it.  All that counter space was particularly useful yesterday.

This is 1 1/2 weeks worth of clothing, and these pictures were taken after Q took almost all of his clothing upstairs.

Shopping

I'm grateful that I don't have to go shopping today.  I'm thankful that so many companies are moving are moving to Internet sales, especially on Black Friday.  I'm grateful that so many people that I know don't plan on spending the day shopping.  While I don't believe that a day dedicated to shopping is the evil that I'm seeing some people post, I'm so very glad that I don't feel a need to be a part of it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm grateful for a holiday that centers around being thankful, friends and family, and food.

I'm also very thankful for those that have chosen to come celebrate with us over doing something else.  I'm hoping that no one regrets that decision.

Home Sleep Study

I'm having to do a sleep study.  I'm so very grateful that they now have a take home version and that I do not have to go to a clinic and sleep there while having a bunch of people watching me.  I hope that when my bear cub has to have hers that they give her the pediatric version.

Sewing Bloggers

I'm grateful for sewing bloggers.  I'm so glad especially for those who spend the time to post their projects, tips, and tutorials.  I know that the people in my life think that I'm a really good seamstress, but in reality I'm constantly improving and the rate of improvement has escalated so much since I have discovered the world of sewing bloggers.  I have learned new techniques for doing full bust adjustments (FBAs), shirring, collars, and a myriad of other things.  I get so much inspiration from seeing their projects.  I've also discovered that I'm more willing to accept and wear my garments (and dress my girls in them) that aren't perfect and this is an enormous boost to all our wardrobes.  I discovered sewing magazines from reading their blogs, which is huge.  I really think that if I lost access to the Internet, there would be two things I really missed, one is the community of parents of children with Down syndrome and the other would be sewing bloggers.

Also, a note on Ally.  She is doing much better.  She had some sort of stomach flu and the beginnings of heart issues.  She is now on an ace inhibitor and her appetite has gotten much better.  I really appreciate all the support my friends and family have given me.

The Bear Cub's Teacher

Those that know me in real life know that I have a *few* grudges against doctors and teachers.  I've had a lot of bad experiences with them both and very few good ones.  My MIL is always telling me that I need to give them the benefit of the doubt and that there are more good ones than bad ones and that my experiences were not indicative of what is out there.  While I try to give individual teachers a chance, it is harder for me than most, I think.

I am, however, incredibly grateful for the bear cub's current teacher.  She is wonderful and I can only hope that the bear cub gets her next year, too (the bear cub will have preschool until she turns five so she has another year after this one).  This teacher majored in deaf communication and signs with the bear cub and the rest of the class.  She has kept the bear cub on her potty training schedule and we have had fairly few accidents while she is at school.  She is extremely communicative with me and shows genuine concern about what is going on at home and letting me know not only what they are doing at school but also what the bear cub is interested and how she is interacting with her classmates and teachers.  I'm so pleased that she has such a wonderful educator this year.

My Beloved Ally

If you've been reading a while, you know a little about my puppies.  My Ally is fifteen and struggling right now, so I'm having a hard time coming up with my grateful today.  I normally have enough that come to mind that I could post multiples and today they are all Ally-based and I don't want to post about any of them because it feels like good-bye.

I'm just grateful that most of my days are filled with feeling of thankfulness and things to be thankful for.

Visiting Family

I'm very grateful that I'm going to get to see my younger sister and my other niece, Little Miss, soon.  I miss them so much and since they live 2 days drive away I very rarely get to see them.  I'm really looking forward to it and am so glad that we have the ability to make the trip this year and have not had to delay it as we have had to so many times in the past.  I miss them so much.

Simplicity 4463 Take 3 - Eeyore

I just had to make Eeyore.  This one was made for the bear cub, but is being modeled by Darth Baby because the bear cub is a bit under the weather right now.  I love Eeyore.  I had a purple donkey that I called Eeyore when I was little.  He wasn't even close to looking like the real one and his purple wasn't a lavender, but closer to fushia, but I loved him all the same.  I couldn't find a lavender minky and decided to do this Eeyore in all blue instead of putting fleece on the belly.

 While she was more than happy to wear the Eeyore costume, she refused to hold the stuffed Eeyore and grabbed her Pooh.

I added a little view of the back because the tail is so stinking cute.  I had to shorten it because the pattern made it much longer than the leg and I didn't want her tripping over it.

The Drama Princess

My beautiful niece, front and center, doing something she definitely has a talent for, though unfortunately, I didn't get to see her performance last night.  I know she did fantastic because I've seen her perform before and she is eloquent and poised and thrives on the attention.

I am thankful for my niece and the time I get to spend with her.  I've loved this little girl since before she was my niece or I even thought she would be.  I am grateful that my girls have at least one cousin that they are growing up with and I'm so glad to see their relationship grow and thrive, especially for the nerdlet, who is personality-wise almost the exact opposite.

The Drama Princess doesn't have the easy relationship with my girls that they have with each other.  She is an only child and often struggles with things like sharing and taking turns, but she is getting better at these things all the time.

All three of my girls love her and look forward to her weekly visits and are not happy when I have to cancel them, which happens way more than I would like.  The Drama Princess definitely adds so much to our lives with her vibrancy and unique style.

I'll leave you with a picture of her dance moves.

Cloth Napkin Tutorial

The nerdlet loves cloth napkins and has been asking for some for over a year.  I finally decided to makes some in no small part due to wanting to buy and use photo quality fruit and veggie fabric that I've seen at my local fabric store, The Creative Sewing Center.  You can order most of the fabrics that I used there.  I don't get anything if you do, and I've never used their online ordering, but I figured that anyone reading this might want to have some of the same fabric.

Anyway, I figured I might as well do a tutorial.  It's a pretty simple project and great for a beginning sewer.  I googled napkin sizes and there doesn't seem to be a standard size.  They range from 15 inches squared to 21 inches squared.  I made mine 16 inches squared because I bought a yard of each fabric and you can get four napkins to a yard.  You'll want to buy two inches longer (and make sure you don't get shorted even a little bit) for each two you wish to make.

Cut your fabric into perfect squares two inches larger than your desired napkin size.  For mine this was 18 inches.  Then fold over the corners two inches from the end.

Unfold and cut off the corner, leaving about 1/2 inch from the fold.

Then fold back up and press.  Do this on all four sides.

Then fold up 1/2 inch the length of the square and press.  I'll let you in on my secret press method here.  I use the finger nail press system here.

Then fold up 1/2 inch of fabric again so that the cut edge is inside the second fold and press.

Do this on all four sides.

Here's another secret.  I don't bother to pin these at all.  Here is the corner with both sides folded over twice.

I start on the corner and stitch a few stitches and then backstitch and forward again.  I'm sewing 1/16 of an inch from the fold.

When I get to the corner, I stop the needle exactly between the two sides in the corner crease.

Lift the foot, turn, and sew on, again 1/16 inch from the edge.

Sew this way all the way around, backstitch at the end and cut the fabric.

Then I sew again 1/16 an inch from the edge.  At the corners, I'm actually 1/8 inch from the edge.  This is to keep my corner from getting sucked into the machine.  I also angle the fabric slightly like you see in the picture for 2-3 stitches for the same reason.  Then I turn the fabric back to straight and 1/16 inch from the edge.

This is what you see after it is stitched, in case you are worried about what the weird turning will make it look like.  You have to strain to even see what I did.

Again I sew all the way around this way.  Moving to the 1/8 inch mark at each corner and back out to 1/16 inch at the sides.  Another way to prevent the machine from taking the corners in is to put tissue paper (or medical table paper, which is what I use for this sort of thing and also pattern tracing) under the corners while you sew.

And a picture of the other side.  The reason for the difference in color is lack of flash.

A fuzzy picture of all the napkins I made, washed and ironed. I'm considering going back for one of these fabrics and making placemats, potholders, and curtains to match.

Darth Baby

Today I'm especially grateful for three things.  First I am grateful that my headache is starting to lessen to the point where it isn't at the front of my thoughts all the time.

Second, I'm grateful for having some one-on-one time with Darth Baby.  She and I rarely have time just the two of us and when we do I am usually so tired that we both nap.  My mom took the nerdlet for a few days to Austin and the bear cub is at school, so Darth Baby and I are having a blast.  We have done a little chase and tickle, some coloring, and some really fun cleaning of the little fridge (more fun for her than for me).  She is running around and singing and getting excited about any little thing, clearly enjoying her mom time.

Lastly I'm grateful that I discovered green smoothies and that I introduced them to Darth Baby early enough that she isn't thrown by the green of them (unlike my niece, the Drama Princess).  Darth Baby isn't a big veggie eater.  She likes green beans and pretty much anything else green is out, unless I throw it in the smoothie.  I drink a green smoothie almost every day and Darth Baby not only is willing to drink them, she will dance around and insist that I put some in a sippy cup for her.

Carlos

I am thankful for Carlos.

This is Carlos.

I've had a headache now for almost two days and Carlos has definitely helped.  When I first saw him, I knew that he was designed for me.  Q bought him this year for me for our anniversary and while I don't get headaches like I used to, I still get them often enough to be very thankful for this.

Not Having to Deal with Bureaucratic Red Tape

I'm not going to go into detail because I don't want to take the chance of possible bad repercussions, but I'm so very grateful for those who work in the bureaucracy who are willing to go outside of the exact rules when they don't make sense for the situation and move you forward in the direction you need to head.

Freedom's Defenders

I'm very grateful that there are people willing and able to defend the many freedoms we have as American citizens.  I'm especially grateful for those that do so.

Naps

I'm grateful for having an opportunity for an afternoon nap.  I'm also especially grateful for the wonderful husband that provides the possibility to me to have one.

Simplicity 4463 Take 2 - Piglet

The Pooh Bear costume that I made Darth Baby for Halloween has been extremely popular in this house.  All three girls want to wear it constantly.  So I've decided to make another.  This time I made Piglet for the nerdlet.  Instead of using the Piglet option, I again made the Pooh version, but changed the belly.  I even made the size two, but simply lengthened it to fit the nerdlet.

It's made of pink minky and the black stripes are piping.  I cut the darker pink minky in 3 1/2 inch strips and sewed the piping in until I had a piece long enough to fit the pattern piece.  The nerdlet is extremely pleased and asked me to put Darth Baby in the Pooh Bear costume so they could play (but alas, the other costume is in the wash again).  She wore this costume all morning until she started to overheat (It's in the 80s today).

Election

I'm grateful the election is over and I no longer have to hear or read anything about it.  I love the fact that we live in a country where we get somewhat of a say in what happens, but I glad that I don't have to hear about the presidential election anymore this year.

Vogue Patterns

I'm thankful for a little thing that happened last night.  I went to Hancock's to pick up some zippers since they are half off through Monday hoping that they closed at 9 instead of 8, since otherwise I was just going to HEB for bananas and home.  They were open.  An employee had a box they had set down to answer another customer's question and when I peeked in it was all the new season's Vogue patterns.  Normally they wait until just after a sale to put out all the new patterns and it seems people buy my size before I get a copy. I bought 6, even though I rarely seem to have time to sew for myself lately.

V1182  Dresses like this are always flattering on me, but RTW never has room for my chest and show way too much cleavage.  Luckily I can fix those issues if I make it myself.

 V1327  While I find the twist at the top of this dress intriguing, I normally wouldn't have picked it up, but a blogger that always seems to make things I like put this on her wish list and so when I saw it, I went ahead and picked it up.

V1328  You really have to see the line drawings to know why I picked this one up, I think.  This picture isn't the same one as is on the pattern.  Hopefully my version won't look like my arms are put on backwards.

 V1333 I love the skirt and the top on this.  This is likely the first (and maybe only) of this bunch that I'll make.  I was tempted to trace and adjust the top last night.

 V8845  I don't really wear jackets, but I think I'd wear this one to shreds.  Unfortunately, a jacket is even more time consuming to sew than pretty much anything else I wish to sew.

V8848  This is another one where the picture doesn't really do the design justice and you have to see the line drawings.  I really like the drape and the extra seam lines (that you can't see here).  It's different enough that I  imagine it will take more time for me to figure out the construction.

Smallpox and Yellow Fever

I am grateful that Smallpox has been eradicated world wide and Yellow Fever and Polio in the US.  I have a large vaccination scar on my arm from the Smallpox vaccine they gave me as a baby.  I was one of the last to be vaccinated and a lot of people older than me did not need it but I was born in a major city with lots of international traffic and they were still vaccinating for it there at the time I was born.  I used to tell kids when they were 'spreading cooties' that it was my cootie vaccination and that I was immune to them (I always hated that game and never understood the boys vs. girls thing).  Also, it probably doesn't surprise you that I wasn't exactly surrounded by friends.

I'm reading Fever Season by Jeanette Keith about the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Memphis that infected so many and resulted in so many deaths.  I had a yellow fever shot before going to Panama when I was young and if there is one vaccination that I will always remember, this is the one.  It was a miserable shot that makes any after affects of other shots pale in comparison and the disease itself it far, far worse.  Locally, we get paranoid about the mosquitoes around us carrying West Nile Flu and I have to say that I'm so glad that we don't have to worry about them carrying Yellow Fever to give to our friends and family.

I pray that we the bird flu virus never mutates to be communicable between humans because it has a 60 percent mortality rate and I can't imagine a pandemic that is so fatal.

The Girls' Measurements

This post is really only going to interest my family. These are the girls' measurements as of 11/03/2012.

Indoor Plumbing

I'm grateful for indoor plumbing, so very grateful for indoor plumbing.  My mother grew up poor.  I'm not talking about living just-below-the-poverty-line poor either.  She has said things like they weren't that poor, the neighbors were really poor, because really poor people had to eat pigeon, and whenever anyone brought  them pigeon to eat, they gave it to the neighbors.  She was, however, poor enough to have to share an outhouse with those neighbors.  There are a lot of reasons to be appreciative of having extra income, and I'm aware of a lot more of them than the average person because of my mom's stories (and also because I've seen the 'home' that she grew up in, but today I'm especially appreciative or indoor plumbing.  I sort of have a reason for being grateful for the fact that I don't have to go far to use a bathroom right now, but I won't go into that.

The Public Library

Today, I am particularly grateful for the library.  I love the library and always have.  My mother used to threaten our library visits to get us to behave.  The San Antonio library is particular nice...now.  When I was in high school you had to travel from library to library to find a book I needed as San Antonio is filled with numerous tiny little libraries.  It was pretty miserable especially for research papers where you needed a number of books on a topic and you could spend all day traveling from library to library to find the ones you needed.  Now you can get online and reserve the books you want and they ship them to whichever library location that you want to pick them up, and you can return them to any other library location that you like.

If you don't know about Wowbrary already, I highly recommend that you check it out.  Each week they send me a list of all the books, music, and CDs that are being ordered by your local library with a link to reserve them from the library.  There are also links to Goodreads and Amazon to check out ratings and reviews.  Because of Wowbrary, I quickly found that you can only have 25 books on reserve at one time in the San Antonio library system.

Another very nice thing about a number of the local libraries is that there is an outdoor playground near a number of them.  The nerdlet's favorite outdoor playground is outside one of our libraries and she is very disappointed when I go for a quick run in and out to drop off or pick up books instead of our normal trips to browse.

Our libraries also have reading time which I took the girls weekly to until the bear cub started school.  They even threw a Halloween costume party for the little ones (though we didn't get to attend because we had a bad stomach flu that we were passing around at the time).  We have even enjoyed a musical concert outside our library during one visit.  There are a ton of open groups that meet at the library that I plan on taking advantage of once my girls are a little older, from book clubs to quilting groups to exercise classes.

I really love our library system and get a lot out of it.  I hope yours is as nice.

Other Mothers

I am grateful for the Down syndrome community.  Unlike a lot of mothers, I did not have a bad experience at the hospital when I had a child with Down syndrome.  The doctors and hospital staff were all congratulatory.  The first "I'm sorry" that I got wasn't until the bear cub was about a month old and I went to lunch with a friend who has a baby just two weeks older than the bear cub and for a second I didn't even know why she said that.  At the hospital, I spoke with a nurse there that had a two-year-old with Ds and also one of the doctors brought his daughter who was 12 to meet me.  They gave me the information to call the Down Syndrome Association of San Antonio, but I didn't call them for a while, maybe two months later.  I did, however, join Babycenter's Ds group while still in the hospital (we were discharged 48 hours after birth) and met some amazing moms through that group.  I couldn't even tell you which mom it was or even if it was just one, but shortly thereafter, I joined facebook and my facebook list has always had more mothers of kids with Ds than any other group, including my huge, extensive family.

There is something about having a child with Ds that changes some people.  It makes them calmer and less drama prone.  I think it makes them more accepting and better people in general.  Because of this, the Ds community is very tight knit and open with each other.  There are a few women that still cause problem, but you can usually spot them right away and whenever the rare drama erupts in the Ds community, it never hits me because I happen to not have any of these people on my list.

There are a number of people that I would cross the country to help out if they needed it and it amazes me to think that some of these people are moms that I haven't even met in real life yet.  I know that I am not the only one and I know of some that have done this when a child with Ds has been hospitalized.  If this doesn't prove how wonderful the community of parents with Down syndrome is, I don't know what does.

San Antonio

It seems every year I want to do a thankful post about San Antonio, but I really, really am.  I enjoy that November means beautiful weather (though I like the years with more rain) where I can still wear shorts and short sleeve shirts most days.  I love more people here are considerate than not.  It's great that we have a second growing season (I just harvested my first fall tomato).  I love that in San Antonio, I can buy bags of Sonic ice (I only just learned that this isn't true in all cities).  I love that because we live in San Antonio we could afford such a large and nice 'starter' home that has turned into our family home without being cramped.  I love being so close to my parents and Q's parents and that unlike Q and I, my girls get constant interaction with their grandparents.  I love living in a town that is family oriented and conservative, but still socially and environmentally progressive.  Every time I step out of San Antonio, I find more and more reasons to be thankful when I come back.

Ottobre Magazine

I'm so thankful that Ottobre Design Magazine exists.  This is a sewing magazine from Finland that specializes in children's and youth fashion.  Each magazine has about 40 designs all with patterns and instructions for the construction.  It comes out six times a year, four of the issues are solely for children from premies patterns to children as 170 cm (5' 7") and two of the issues for adult women (and possibly men, I only have 3 of the adult ones so far).  Also, if you go to their site linked above and choose a magazine, you can link to the line drawings of each of the patterns in the magazine as far back as I tried this.  I have a standing subscription to this magazine and because of this, they will ship my past issues that they have in stock with free shipping.  I'm slowing buying the older issue as I have the money starting with the issues geared to children.  Another nice thing that they have in more recent issues is that they have difficulty ratings on the patterns.  Also, the fit of these patterns on my children is much better than Big 4 patterns (Simplicity and McVoguerick).

I've made a number of their patterns and blogged about most of them on this blog (http://quitereasonable.blogspot.com/search/label/ottobre).  I haven't labeled them all yet though, apparently.  I love that they have basics and cool things like the Biker Jacket.  Since getting these magazines, I have severely cut down on my purchasing of Big 4 kids patterns.  I just don't feel the need when I am sure that what I want will be in one of the Ottobre's and fit my girls much better.  I'm really glad that there are these magazines.

Sewing FOE in the Round

I often have difficulty getting the fold over elastic (FOE) to do what I want, especially when I am trying to do the tiny little sleeve hems for the girls t's.  I finally figured out how to make it a little more controllable and I thought I would share it with you.  It takes more steps, but it is worth it for me as I find it easier and less frustrating.  You will also need a thread that matches the FOE exactly for a nice finish.

I'm demonstrating this on yet another 6-2012-1.  This is my fourth of these t's.

I start by choosing the zigzag stitch that backstitches in place.

I have the sleeve with the right side inside the sleeve.

I start sewing over an inch in where my thumb is in the picture.  After a little practice at this you can actually line the seam in the FOE with the seam in the sleeve, but really I was focusing on getting the documentation of the steps and not the perfection of lining up the seam lines.

 Backstitch and the sew while folding it over the edge.  I don't use any pins for any of this.

I also stretch the elastic a little as I go while leaving the knit completely unstretched.  For leg openings of diaper/panty covers, I'm stretching the elastic a lot.

Here you can see how far the elastic is hanging off the sleeve from where I started.

Sew around the sleeve and when you get an inch or so from the edge, cut off a little more than the amount of elastic that you need to get to finish.  Backstitch and cut threads.

Then I push the unsewn elastic edges around to see where the seam needs to be.

When you decide where to sew, flip the elastic around (both sides the same way) so that the extra elastic will be between the elastic and the sleeve.

Select a straight stitch.

And sew the seam on the elastic ends.

I always preview the elastic on the sleeve before proceeding because I am directionally challenged and I want to make sure I didn't twist the elastic and that the seam allowances are where I want them.  This is also a good test to make sure you have enough and not too much elastic to finish the seam.

Then I trim any extra FOE.  You can see here that I decided that the first seam would have too much elastic so I simply sewed another seam 1/4 inch closer in.

Here it is trimmed.

I select the zigzag again.

 

I backstitch in place and then finish sewing on the elastic and going over where I originally started a little bit before backstitching again and cutting the threads.

Here is the finished Sleeve opening.  This picture makes the sleeve look bigger than it is because I have small palms and long fingers, but you can't really see my fingers here.  You can see the ruler below, which shows that the sleeve opening is just a little over an inch across.  This tight an opening would be really hard for me to do the traditional way and yet I find this way easy although there are a lot of steps.

This is what the finished sleeve looks like from the side everyone will see.

What the sleeve looks like on the side facing the body.  You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

And the finished shirt on the nerdlet.  It's amazing to me that the 6 month shirt that I lengthened until it was long enough for the bear cub fits my almost five-year-old so well.

There are a lot of ways to do apply FOE, but this is definitely the easiest way for me.  Hope it helps if you are struggling with putting it onto a round edge.

For those that are interested, I buy my FOE mostly from Sew Sassy Fabrics.