Crochet a Baby Blanket

My girlfriends and I are in the middle of a really fun project. We are crocheting baby blankets to donate to the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.

"The Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery is an extraordinary place. For children, it provides a haven of unconditional love and attention from adults whose only hope is to create lifetime memories of security. For parents who are overwhelmed and lack support, it’s a breath of fresh air and helps eliminate tremendous burdens.

Named in memory of Vanessa Kay Behan, a Spokane girl who died of child abuse related injuries at the age of two, we’re committed to preventing her story from happening again. Since opening our doors in 1987, we’ve cared for over 81,100 children and been a life-line of support and hope to every single parent.

This impact is completely funded by the support and generosity of committed champions who believe that keeping kids safe and strengthening families results in a more vibrant community for everyone."

I have been a knitter for over a decade. This was my first crochet project, and I was a little intimidated by the idea of switching methods. I was especially nervous about starting the "chain" - which is basically the first row of a project. However, crocheting is incredibly easy once you get going. If I am going to be honest, it is much easier than knitting. When you make a mistake you can simply pull out your mistake and easily redo; when you are knitting, you have to actually knit backwards when you make a mistake. Storing the project is much easier too. You do not have to worry about stitches dropping off a needle when you are crocheting; you can simply start from where you left off when you pick up the project the next time. This is incredibly helpful when you have a curious toddler grabbing at everything.

Here's my official invitation to you! Come and help us make baby blankets for children in need! The project is easy, you can work on it while watching TV, and it is for a great cause.

Here is what you will need:

• 3-4 skeins of yarn.
• 1 crochet hook (I9/5.5mm).
• 1 cup of tea/wine.
• Unlimited amounts of love.

Step 1: The Slip Knot

The slip knot is a good skill to master for any craft that works with textiles.

Find the video here.

Step 2: The Chain Stitch

This is the official start to your crochet project. If this is your first project, do not get discouraged if you end up doing this step 1-10 times! Because of this, I recommend trying your first few rows on a smaller scale (7-10 stitches/chains) before tackling the big blanket. When you are ready, about 100 stitches/chains is a good width for your baby blanket.

Make sure your chain is not too tight and not too loose. A good rule of thumb is to make sure the yarn moves back and forth over the hook easily.

Find the video here.

Step 3: Single Stitch Crochet

Once you have your chain, it is time to get started on the body of the project. This first row in the single stitch is the hardest! The same rule applies here as it does in the chain stitch: make sure you are not making your work too tight or too loose. When you turn your work to start a new row, you want to think about having the yarn on the back side of the project.

Counting your stitches is helpful for beginners to make sure the project is not getting larger or smaller. This is why I recommend practicing on a smaller scale of 7-10 stitches until you have mastered the technique.

Find the video here.

Step 4: Keep It Up!

Turn on the TV or cue up a movie. Pop open a bottle of wine and invite your girlfriends over. One day your project will be snuggled by a little boy or girl who is in need of love. Your blanket is truly a Labor of Love.

Ebble's Favorite Things: Juicing Edition

I'm on a juicing kick, and I just can't quit! Someone should hire me to make commercials, because obviously my slogans are legit.

One of my BFFs recently moved to the other end of the world (Philly), and this means I no longer have a coffee buddy at work. It also means I no longer spend money on mochas and doughnuts every day of my life. Instead, I am allocating those funds to produce! This all came about when a complete stranger pointed out my acne problems, and thereafter informed me that juicing would solve all my skin woes. Yes, you read that right. Those were the words spoken to me in my own paraphrased terms. In this person's defense, I have been toying with the idea of getting a juicer for months, so I took the suggestion at face value and bought one anyway.

I have ginger girl skin, and nothing can change that, so I am here to tell you that having a daily Juice (I am capitalizing it since the liquid produced is the purest, highest form of liquid goodliness and foodliness) has done very little to clear redhead blotchiness...so far...That being said, I can tell you the following fun facts:

• It is an easy way to ingest fruits and vegetables - It is the general recommendation for adults to consume 9 servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. I am lucky if I can get in 2, so throwing fruits and veggies in a juicer or blender are an easy way to get our daily intake. Everett refuses to eat spinach, but he does not notice its presence in a smoothie or juice drink.
• We waste less produce - I love buying produce in bulk. It just makes sense. For the most part, I am able to use it all up by making baby food puree or adding leftovers to another recipe. However, sometimes I am unable to use an entire bag. Throw it in the juicer and you have yourself an empty refrigerator!
• Everett has an easier time taking a shhhhh...it just hit me - No doubt, this stuff travels through the digestive system at a rapid rate.
• We are drinking less coffee and eating fewer snacks - The Juice tastes amazing right out of the machine, and there is no need to add sugar. Since we are powered by natural sugars, as well as vitamins and minerals, we no longer feel that need for afternoon caffeine. Nothing can ever replace my morning cup of coffee. It truly is the best part of waking up.
• Our compost bin has never been happier.

So here is what we have to get started.

1. Breville Juice Fountain Plus: I went to the store and got the cheapest juicer they had available. It happened to be this one, and I am not at all disappointed by it. There is no pulp, the motor is powerful, and there are 2 speeds depending on how tough the fruit/veggie is you are putting down the chute. I put whole apples in this guy and it says, "Bloop, here you go."
2. Compost Bin: Juicing creates a lot of pulp, which will make an awesome compost over time. If you have an outdoor compost bin, it is helpful to have a canister in the kitchen to collect food and paper scraps from in the house. Once we fill this guy up, we take it out to the big bin. We bought this one because the ceramic is easy to clean. Ours has been going strong for 3 years now, so we are proof of its durability.
3. I admit it, these boots have nothing to do with juicing. But I LOVE them! They are perfect for slipping on your feet to take the kitchen compost to the outdoor bin, or for taking the garbage out, or for walking to the store in the rain/snow, or for cleaning out the hypothetical chicken coop. They are cute, and they are durable, not to mention incredibly comfortable. Warning: heed the sizing recommendations posted online. I prefer these over standard rain boots because they insulate the foot a little better. Regular rain boots = cold Ebble feet.
4. Juicing Recipe Books: It's important to have recipes for your new juicer. The manual to the Breville includes a few recipes, but my favorite book is Juice Alive, by a N.D. in Portland. The recipes contain information on how to address physical ailments, and they go beyond the standard concoctions you will find in a juicing manual.

Adventures in Potty Training!

Potty Training Boot Camp -  Round 1

Everett: 1          Me: 0

I've said it once, and I've said it at least four times after I said it that one time: raising a child is like training a dog. When we acquired Willow, we read this awesome book about how to train a dog. You see, dogs are social beings, and each "pack" has a social makeup.  The first step in training a dog is to get them used to their place in the family's hierarchy. There are simple non-verbal cues you can give a dog to let her know where she stands, such as rolling her on her back when she tries to take over as alpha, or feeding the dog after the humans have eaten, as beta animals in the pack eat after the alpha dogs.

Everett's "pack" training has been pretty similar, except he gets the first course of meals rather than the table scraps, and we feel no need to roll him into submissive postures to "put him in his place" - although I did have to bodycheck him into his car seat once during a particularly brutal tantrum in the grocery store parking lot. However, for the most part our parenting during this phase of life is teaching him social norms, and giving him both verbal ("We don't play with fire.") and non-verbal (leading by example) cues as to how he can properly behave. Hopefully my wrestling skills will not be put to use too many more times. That singlet doesn't fit me anymore.

So when it came down to potty training, I referenced the good ole Monks for advice. To my absolute shock, I found that they offered ZERO advice on how to potty train a child. Since their crate training methods in no way applied to my toddler, I read some actual potty training manuals (aka articles I found on Pinterest). Kiddo was doing great! He could pretty much pee on command, and he always asked to "Use potty please," when he needed to "Takin' the dump."  <---- Everett's words, not mine.

And then something happened. I don't know what it was, but all of a sudden he became frightened of the process. To get back on track, I decided to implement Potty Training Boot Camp this weekend. Here's the gist of how it all went down -

Me: "Everett, do you want to go potty on the toilet?"
Everett: "No."
Me: "Do you want a piece of candy?"
Everett: "Yeah!"
Me: "Great, you can have a piece of candy if you go potty on the toilet."
Everett: "It's Tuesday...Friday. Garbage truck!"

I'll spare you the gory details of me stepping in a pile of human feces, but I decided to throw in the towel after Everett peed on the kitchen floor, ran away after he realized what was happening, slipped in the puddle, then split his lip open on a kitchen cabinet. One can only take so much trauma in a day.

However, remember how next weekend is a 3-day weekend? I have a few tricks up my sleeve (spoiler alert: it's Hershey Kisses), and I'm looking forward to VICTORY. I do wish we could just stick him in a crate, but I guess the process is pretty similar to training a corgi: hydrate, wait, pee, treat, repeat. The good news is our efforts were not completely wasted. We got him to put on underwear after we made up a song for it, and he will pee on command if he can see the prize, but only if the candy is sitting right there. Baby steps!

If anyone has any advice on potty training boys I am all ears. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!

Christmas is over and it is a Brand New Year. Like clockwork, every year the busyness of holiday preparations is quickly followed by the tearing down of all our beloved decorations. This year, I saw someone taking down their Christmas lights on Christmas Eve and it made me abysmally sad. To top it all off, we said Aloha to some loved ones this last week. A handful of our friends are moving on to new chapters of life in new cities, and we are stuck here with the emptiness they once filled.

But hey, it's a new year and we all get a new slate. Rather than making resolutions, I have dedicated myself to personal growth and being true to myself. I think that's pretty doable. After all, "How am I not myself?" (Kudos to anyone who gets that reference...we are officially friends.)

Oh, and I plan on getting myself organized now that we have more house space. But that's not really a resolution. It is more of a seasonal goal - among other seasonal goals in my mind (Jeff doesn't know it yet, but I am going to make him build things this spring).

I've felt a little stifled creatively these last few years. I am a creative person by God's design, and my day is generally filled with data, structure, and repetition. This online space has helped me cope with that, so thank you for following me on this crazy journey we like to call Life.

Goodbye 2014!

Novice Quilter

So obviously one of my bigger accomplishments of 2014 was finishing my first quilt.

I saw the pattern on Craftsy one dreary day, and decided I needed a little color in my life. The colors were chosen for me, as they came in a precut roll. Buying precut saved me a few good hours.

Quilting is a little addicting. I'm hoping to make another blanket for Everett's big boy bed (when he's ready). The workers at Spokane's premier quilting shop made me feel like my sewing machine was a little inferior for the task, so I did not try anything too fancy in the actual quilting phase. I simply did standard squares "in the ditch" of the existing fabric patterns.

To start, I "basted" the fabric together by layering everything on the floor. Using basting pins from Joann's, I pinned all the pieces together, then went for it on the machine. Some people pay for these final steps to be done by a professional, but I was on a budget and wanted to call this whole project my own.

I definitely felt like my sewing machine's ability was stretched in this step. I had to do a lot of pushing to get that heavy fabric to move, even with a brand new walking presser foot (a foot that supposedly "walks" the top layer of fabric, while the "feet" built into the machine move the bottom layer of fabric).

The final step is binding the quilt, which I did with the help of this gal and this gal. I guess you can say I combined their methods and did whatever seemed least confusing to me.

Is my quilt perfect? No. Does it bring our family great joy? YES.

Want, Need, Wear, Read

Jeff and I are at a crossroads where we need to set expectations for Christmas in our home. No thanks to the media, parents are under a lot of holiday pressure. Overpriced dolls and Elf on a Shelf are two common Christmas woes I hear from my friends who are parents. Kids see that Santa brought their friends expensive, name brand dolls, and they are forced to wonder what they did during the year that made Santa think they were unworthy of receiving extravagant gifts as well.

"Mommy, the Smiths have a magic elf at their house. Why don't we have a magic elf too?"

How is a parent even supposed to respond to that question?!

The hoopla makes me want to throw in the towel on this whole Christmas thing before it gets out of control, but that's not fair to Everett. Christmas is about appreciating what you have and giving to others, not about getting all the cheap toys you see on television commercials. I want to raise my son to be grateful for the things he receives, which is why we will only be giving him things we know he will love and appreciate, and that will not clutter up our lives (and his brain). What will be under our tree this year?

Want: Anything Thomas the Train will do! However, he received lots of Thomas paraphernalia for his birthday this year, so he will be getting the next best thing (from Grandma) - a Radio Flyer! He really is obsessed with wagons, and now he will have a vehicle to cart around all his trains.

Need: We picked up a Bob Stroller weather shield this weekend. This will *fingers crossed* allow us to continue our family walks in the winter. Since Everett refuses to wear a hat, the cold gets to him pretty quickly when there is not a barrier to block the chilly winds. We also lose a lot of blankets to kicking feet, so this will help with that little issue as well. The good news is Ev really likes his stroller. If he looks disappointed after opening this, we can tell him it's for the stroller and he will have a whole new appreciation for it.

Wear: I bought Everett two new pairs of Hanna Andersson pajamas for Christmas - this pair and this pair. Everett loves Hanna Andersson PJs because they do not lose their softness over time. We also gave him an early present of these socks. They go high up his calf, which makes it incredibly difficult for him to take them off, and they keep the feet and legs warm on chilly days. Like last year, he will also be receiving a pair of Padraig slippers. These shoes make the the perfect holiday gift for babies and toddlers. They are also available at Mother's Haven if you live in the Spokane/Coeur d' Alene area.

Read: Everett is obsessed with books. This classic winter story is perfect in board book form. Jan Brett has a collection of wonderful children's stories. Everett frequently falls asleep with one of her books in his crib.


Parents, I beg you! This holiday season, please be sensitive to other families who may not have the time or resources you do. Take a moment to teach your children about the true meaning of giving and receiving gifts. This Advent season is about the anticipation of Joy. Not the joy of receiving presents, but the Joy that comes when the blind see, the sick are healed, and the lame rise up and walk.

Happy Hanukkah.

Weekenders {Holiday Edition}

Spokane has a lot to offer during the holidays. Our favorite tradition is driving to Lake Coeur d' Alene to watch the bald eagles. 

Yesterday was the perfect day for this. It has been unseasonably warm, but it was still frigid by the waters. Good thing I finished my quilt! Seriously, we would have been dying without it. I had to keep Everett in the Ergo for extra warmth, and to restrain him from attempting to jump in the water (he kept asking if he could).

Everett loved watching the eagles swoop down toward the water. You can catch a glimpse of one from afar in this photo! This is a pretty remarkable thing we get to witness every year at this time.

Our usual routine is to round out our evenings in CDA by visiting the ornament shop and the Irish store, then enjoying a cup of hot chocolate at the resort while looking at the lights on the boardwalk. 

And for one weekend only, Riverside State Park strings up lights at the Bowl and Pitcher. Even the suspension bridge is decorated, which is pretty terrifying - yet special. It is good the weather has been so warm, or the whole experience in the park would have been treacherous. My dad and step-mom met us down there for the festivities.

It's a good thing I take so many pictures, because the next day I realized how insufficient Everett's winter wardrobe is. I ran by REI after church and spent $50+ on wool socks alone to get us through the winter. I realize this is a lot to spend on a kid's underwear, but his comfort means we have more outdoor time this winter, and he certainly appreciated the warm feet and legs the following day in Coeur d' Alene. Next on the list is a new (longer) pair of jeans. The kid tears hats off his head in seconds, so I've lost that battle for now.

Despite the cold, we all had a fantastic time. There were plenty of activities for kids of all ages, including a hay ride, visits with Santa, bonfires, warm beverages, and real life owls. Here's what went down when E got to meet Santa for the first time:

"Yeeeeeah...this is effed."

"Grandpa, please save me!"

"If I must."

His hair was so crazy because he kept tearing off his hat.

Everett was most impressed with the bonfires they had around the park. A log would crack, sparks would fly, and he would yell, "It's snowing!"

He is so lucky to have Grandparents who love spending time with him. And check it out: the three most important men in my life, all in one picture.