They are finally done!

Sewing projects now take me weeks to finish whereas before they would only take me hours to a few days to complete. I have learned to try not to be so anxious to finish a project that I am excited about because I can only work on it little bits at a time....you can't imagine why, right?! (;

I started these jumper/dresses for the girls in December. The fabulous fabric is from Joann! I saw it in someone's cart while I was on one of my many shopping trips there....and unfortunately that woman bought what was left on the bolt. ): Thus began my search for some elsewhere, and thanks to my persistent/determined mom (thanks mom!), I was able to obtain 3 3/4 yds of this ADORABLE fabric from a Joann store in MN, which she then sent to me. Yay!

I just finished the last one & couldn't wait to post pictures! My goal was to have them wear them for Valentine's Day/weekend & I made it!

Gabrielle's dress is from a 'vintage' pattern: Simplicity 7017 , view 1. Instead of pleats I gathered the front & back, and added pockets to match her sister's dresses.

Vianne & Olivia's dresses are from the same pattern McCalls 5694.

Vianne's is size 4, and Olivia's is size 7. I'm just having them wear white turtle necks, white tights, & black shoes with them.

Here's a pocket close-up. They are so cute! I love the gathered pockets which are so trendy these days!

Close-up of fabric. TOO CUTE TO PASS UP! I just LOVE it!

I will post pics of the girls wearing them later.....

love,

jen

Wow, wow, wow......

For my fellow Catholics, particularly devotees of the Divine Mercy, this is very touching. http://thedivinemercy.org/news/story.php?NID=3493

A Big Happy Birthday.......

to my dear friend Daniella......

I feel like I can now say that my friend Daniella & I go 'way back', as it's been nearly 8 years since I've seen her, but we've kept in contact by phone & email all this time. Her & I met during our time working at NASA Langley Research Center, and found out we had a similar background as we are both the oldest of 4 girls. We both came from very different parts of the country to take the co-op/internship in Hampton, Virginia. I came from Michigan at the time & she from New Mexico. She resides there today with her husband (great story how they met, btw) and her 2 beautiful children. Back then, her & I shared tips on where-to-find jewelry, make-up, how to best pluck your eyebrows, what engineering classes we had taken & need to take, where to eat hot spicey Thai food, and we went club hopping throughout the week so we could Salsa/Merenge/and Bachata the nights away.

Daniella & I on one of our dancing nights:

Tony (now Daniella's husband), Daniella & I on another dancing night.......(yes, Daniella was one of the last people to see my hair CURLY! since it went away after I had children):

Proof we worked at NASA.....sort of. I couldn't find a picture of Daniella & I actually at our workplace at NASA. This picture is not an accurate depiction of where we worked either......this pic was taken when I drove down w/some other interns to the NASA center in FL to watch a launch.....this is me on the launch pad next to the spaceshuttle....I have to say, the whole experience was amazing!

Daniella saw me through most of my 2nd half of my pregnancy when I was expecting Olivia, and helped to host one of only 2 baby showers I have ever had. Today we chat about birthing, nursing babies, stamping, sewing, our children, and her (fairly) recent chemo treatment for a growth on her ovary. She is one amazing woman.

Here is Daniella with her husband Tony, her little boy Isaiah, and her daughter Julianah:

Daniella recently sent an update about herself to some of her friends. I asked her if it would be alright if I could 'reprint' it and share it on my blog. She agreed. (Names of Drs have been changed to protect their privacy) To all my girlfriends: read up!

Hi everyone!

It has been a very long time since I have sent out an email about my health. I recently had my 3 month check up and I received another bill of good health. Two years ago this month I started chemo and my long journey of exams, blood work, testing and the uncertainity.... Although I am in good health, we are however, "watching" a cyst on my right ovary. And this is why I have decided to send an email.

When I first discovered that I had a "growth" on my left ovary (~3yrs ago) and that I was going to have to have it (ovary) removed, I had several emails/calls/etc asking me if I had gotten my pap. The answer is yes, every year. The second was, what did you feel. At the time this all happened, we had alot going on. I was pregnant with Isaiah and had all-day sickness and we were bidding on our first house and the only symptom I could remember was that it felt like a sprained muscle. Well, this time around when I started to feel a "pain" on my right side, I paid close attention. Partly because I wanted to tell my doctor and partly b/c I wanted to share with you, so you will know the symptoms.

So lets go back to August 2008. I started feeling a pain on my right side. I noticed it more when my bladder was full, or if I wore boots/high heels and walked on a hard surface, or if I wore a belt with my jeans and was sitting for long periods of time. I had just had an appt with my oncologist, Dr. P, so I thought, hmm, my blood work looked good, he said my ovary "felt" normal during the exam, so maybe it is just my period. September 2008. The pain by now was worse. At times, I had to take an ibuprofen just to make it bearable. Sometimes it would radiate to my lower back. I was not sleeping well and felt tired. The pain now lasted longer than just a few days, it was most of the time. I had an appt with Dr P at the first of Oct, so I thought I would wait and I did. Oct 2008. My blood work looked great. During my appt, I told Dr P about my pain and when he did my exam, he said my ovary "felt" normal and it did not feel enlarged (which would indicate a cyst). And this is important b/c he does this EVERY DAY, he is trained in this, he knows what he is supposed to be feeling. This is why I am sending this email to you! But being the great doctor he is, he listened to me. He decided he wanted to change my birth control to a combined hormone pill and get me an ultrasound ASAP. I got an ultrasound and it confirmed what I thought. I had a cyst on my right ovary. It measured 47cc in volume. The radiologist said it was probably a functional cyst (those that we women get from time to time). But b/c of my history she wanted to see me again. Jan 2009. I went in for my second ultrasound. And bad news was that the cyst was still there, good news was that it had decreased in size to 22cc in volume. That's more than half!! This is b/c of the new birth control. I had an appt w/ Dr P the next day. During the appt, my blood work looked great (all good news) and the cyst was already shrinking. He is optimistic that with new BC it will dissolve. How long? Probably about 6 months. But the good news, is that I really do not feel it anymore. And b/c it is decreasing in size, he is not worried of it being cancerous. So that is why we are watching it, just to make sure.

So after all that background information, this is what I wanted to pass along to you. YOU know what feels normal. If you are having a pain on one of your sides that lingers around for longer than 2 weeks, you need to call your doctor. If you get an exam and everything "feels" fine, but you know better, request an ultrasound. Even my doctor, who specializes in this, could not feel this cyst, remember that! And remember that a pap does NOT screen for ovarian cancer, but for cervical cancer. And yes, most cysts are benign, but those that are not can be deadly. Ovarian cancer is a slient killer. We, as women, just get too busy to listen to our bodies and by the time we do, it is too late.

Did you know that Sept is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month? I didn't until I went through all of this. Did you know that teal is the awareness color? I didn't. I think it would be great if the same awareness could be done about Ovarian Cancer that is done with Breast Cancer. We all know pink is the color and October is the month. I think this is great, but it would be great if the same coverage would be given the month before to Ovarian Cancer. So take this information for yourself and pass it along. You want to ask more questions, feel free. I am open.

Please do not think that I sent this to you to scare you b/c that was not my intention. I think information is power and I hope I just empowered you!

daniella

Thank you Daniella for your awesome witness & openness to share. I hope you have the Happiest of Birthdays D!

Lots of love,

Jen

sewing.....

I had the apron we made for my mom for Christmas of 2007 updated after Levin was born. We put his little footprint & his name on it! So Sweet!

The apron I made my sister, Stacy for Christmas:

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the aprons I made for my other sisters, Chrissy & Karlee.

Teach your early Preschooler how to hand sew

There are SO many things that I’ve wanted to post & talk about & share on this blog, but I just don’t have the time to do it all……today I’m going to write about, something I’ve wanted to write about since I first started this blog: how I’ve taught my (young) children how to hand sew.

This idea is partly mine & partly comes from the Montessori teacher training distance learning course I took.

Yes! It is even possible to do this with a child who is as young as 3 ½, but YOU, as your child’s parent – who knows your child the best, will be able to decide when to introduce this activity!

Let’s get started!

Supplies are easy to find at your local craft store or Walmart.

You’ll need:

An embroidery hoop – (I used a 6” or 7” one)

Burlap piece of cloth – at least 2” bigger than the diameter of your embroidery hoop

Embroidery floss (floss = special thread for embroidery & counted cross stitch) OR yarn

A size 22 or 24 embroidery (pkg may be labeled 'tapestry' needle) needle* OR a plastic yarn needle

*Those of you who know me, know that I’m not a mother who shys away from allowing my children to use real knives, scissors, or needles. (The book “The Continuum Concept” really resonated with me – especially concerning this topic) If you are not comfortable with this, (which is totally fine!) you can try to find a large plastic yarn needle which works great for this project too.

1. Cut out a square piece of burlap at least 2” bigger than the diameter of your embroidery hoop.

*not sure why this picture keeps loading sideways*

2. The next step is to grab a thread of the burlap piece & pull it out until it’s gone. You will be able to see a line of spaces where that thread had been weaved into the burlap. Pull out several threads like the picture above shows.

3. Then secure your fabric in the embroidery hoop, similar to the picture above.

4. Cut a piece of embroidery thread, or yarn, long, but not too long. Thread the embroidery floss onto the needle and tie a very large knot on the end.

5. Come up through the bottom of the fabric (I like to start on the right side) & show your child how to sew in & out along the line you created by pulling out the burlap thread. It doesn’t matter if the child makes even stitches. The point here is to get the child to sew in & out. Sometimes children get confused as to which side to put the needle into, I say: “if your thread is coming out the top, poke the needle into the top, if the thread is coming out the bottom, poke the needle into the bottom" or something like that -whatever you come up with to help your child understand is great! You can teach your child that this type of stitch is called a “running stitch”.

6. Once you get to the end of the line (on the left in my case), just simply continue on the next ‘line’ going from left to right, then the next line from right to left, and so on. The child may also get confused about which hand to use & may try to switch which hand sews & such. I teach my children to hold the hoop with one hand and sew with the other hand. I tell them to push the needle through the hole/fabric until it stays by itself, then grab it on the other side (the side it’s sticking out of), and that the hand that is holding the hoop keeps holding the hoop the whole time, it doesn’t switch jobs with the other hand. This will take patience (especially depending on the age of your child) and practice. Even if your child is right handed, he or she may feel more comfortable sewing with the opposite hand, and holding the hoop with their dominant hand…you can let them experiment with this(this is the case w/my little Oscar), and don’t worry, you won’t be confusing them!

This is an excellent fine motor activity for small children. They probably won’t be able to finish the project in one sitting, especially if they are very small. That’s okay! If your kids are like mine, they’ll be so proud when it’s all finished –or glad it’s finally over (like Oscar)!

Use different colors for fun! *Vianne is 3 1/2 years old these pics that were taken last August.

Once your child gets a lot more advanced & has had practice they can move onto sewing on a piece of fabric. Older children will be able to sew/embroider the outline of an object. Oscar sewed the outline of an elephant on this orange fabric & mommy turned it into a pillow! You'll need to teach the backstitch for outlining solid lines.