Crafty Rachel

Scenes from the first week of March

2010-03-11T05:16:37Z

The first third of this month has flown by, especially because of our fun trip to Milwaukee for Monica and Jeff’s baby shower. Since Jax and I left Seth behind for that weekend, last Tuesday we had a family swim night as a special treat.

Since the pool is on the way to the best Chinese food we can find up here (we still miss Chinatown), and since Asian cuisine of any sort is always a huge hit with the whole family, we headed to the Oriental Diner after 45 minutes of chasing each other around the kiddie pool.

Jax just can’t get enough of the lo mein and the moo shu chicken!

Jax loved playing the piano at Grandma Barb + Grandpa Chuck’s house.

…and riding on the rocking horse my dad built for us when we were kids.

We had lunch last Thursday with Aunt Laura, followed by a trip to the salon for new haircuts.

The excitement of it all!

He’s still perfecting the pouring technique. Here, pouring oatmeal with Auntie Grace.

At the baby shower: the parents-to-be!

Here’s a special shout-out to my faithful blog readers Laura, Lynda, and Alyssa. So fun seeing you!

On Sunday we went straight from Laguardia Airport to a wedding in Long Island. Here’s our favorite 17-month old in his Sunday best:

And now my computer is telling me it is somehow Thursday already. Whaaa? Hope everyone is having a great week and keeping up with things better than I have been!

New Month, New ‘Do

2010-03-02T03:03:44Z

Two weeks ago we ditched our pleasant-smelling, all natural Burt’s Bees baby shampoo for what was supposed to be some hard-core de-tangling baby shampoo “for curly hair.” But that stuff didn’t stand a chance against Jax’s bedhead. We were better off with our previous routine of Burt’s Bees shampoo followed by grown-up conditioner followed by conditioning styling oil meant for the silky smooth hairstyle of an adult woman. Oh yes, and several long minutes of combing and squirming and applying more product. All this for a 17-month-old boy? We decided to let Jax get into a complicated hair routine on his own time and for now, give him a new, much shorter hair do. {Not to mention he had his bangs permanently in his face.}

Now I understand why my sister and I had borderline mullets until we could do our own hair. We have the crazy hair gene.

Here’s the before:

I know, he is so cute with his robot PJ’s and emo hair! I’m starting to feel nostalgic, but have to remember he’s making that face not because he’s trying to translate emotional angst into a guitar riff, but because he is trying to get the bangs out of his eyes so he can see the blocks he’s stepping on.

Here’s the after, dreadlock-free in the back:

Some shots in action, just before bedtime tonight:

I think we’re all happy with the new haircut, even if it will take us some getting used to!

Recent Projects

2010-02-19T16:49:35Z

The biggest accomplishment of the past weeks has been finishing the draft of my third chapter (only one more to go!), but I also found some time for a couple of craft breaks.

Remember that vintage sweater I framed last year? Since Jax has actually been wearing the thing, I thought it was time for a nursery decor overhaul. I have this lovely quilted doll blanket my Aunt Marge Ann made for me when I was little, and I’ve finally found the perfect use for it:

The new and improved reading corner: framed doll blanket hanging over the dog-bed-turned cozy corner. The alligator pillow is a TJ Maxx find (and Jax fell in love with the animal in Florida – “adiddle” he calls them), and the green velvet one is something I made and thought would add interesting texture. The big white pillow is a fuzzy quilted floor pillow.

I then took an idea from Purl Soho that I’ve been harboring for over two years and added some colorful interest to another blank wall:

Once I blogged about the DIY ribbon tag toys I was making, my friend Cecilia requested a couple – one for herself and one for a friend:

{That little donkey print gets around!}

Here are some in-progress pictures:

I also finished a knit bonnet – my first time trying this pattern and this yarn (big fan of both) – and sent it off to baby Tegan out in California.

Here’s a tip for gifting your yarn work: make a tag the same size as the yarn label and tie them together to the gift. That way, all the info about material content and washing instructions is all there.

Finally, for a totally random travel idea from the daughter of two scientists, you can make toddler snack packs with little test tubes. {Don’t worry, these were never used in any experiments!} My mom gave me a ton of these to organize craft supplies, but they worked wonders during our trip: not only are you only dealing with one serving of snacks at a time, but the twist-off cap can become an intriguing toy for the toddler.

O’s cereal, Cheddar crackers, and Dried Cranberries, ready for take-off

Similarly, if you need special laundry detergent on the go (if you are using cloth diapers or if your tot has sensitive skin), the tubes work well for that, too:

Just don’t try to get these guys through security…Who knows what they’ll think.

And voilà, my list of recent crafty randomness.

Some highlights of our California trip in progress

2010-02-11T03:05:17Z

Blogging on the fly means only iPhone pictures for now. I have many other friends and family members to show off once we have the “big” camera’s charger and cable set-up, but here is a start of what we’ve been up to this week.

First, we hung out in LA, and got to visit The Getty with friends Philip and Stephen. There is an awesome kids’ area there that our favorite toddlers loved. In nicer weather, the gardens are great, but this was a lot of fun too – so take your kids there when you’re in the area!

Jax and Stephen create a modern sculpture.

Then we went to Santa Monica and tried out the slides:

The next day we toured the boats Uncle Chuck drives, and Jax got a balloon from the captain himself.

Then it was off to Travel Town to see – and ride! – trains.

Today, our first full day in San Francisco, Jax and I checked off a lot of the tourist must-dos while Seth did his MacWorld thing.

Pier 39 and the sea lions:

He loved imitating the bark of the sea lions.

and climbing:

Then we had a lovely lunch for two at Fisherman’s Grotto, complete with chowder and harbor view:

We checked out the various fountains at Ghirardelli Square.

He pointed out that there was “dah-tu” (water) and a “tutle” (turtle) in this one.

We then grabbed some hot chocolate, at which point both the camera and phone were dead. We were pretty pooped, too. Since we had gone the whole day on foot (from Union Square to Fisherman’s Warf), we took the easier and more exciting cable car back to the hotel. Jax was really excited about the “a car” (cable car) but the vibrations going up and down all those hills put him to sleep.

And now begins tonight’s quest for delicious noodles and the continuation of our California adventure.

Some favorite tunes

2010-02-01T14:49:47Z

About a year ago, Amazon had a special deal: 100 kids songs for 99 cents. I thought, “how bad can they be?” and decided it was worth a buck to find out. The answer? very bad: dorky karaoke-esque background music accompanying a kid’s choir butchering classics like “Little Miss Muffet.” I knew there was better kid’s music out there, but it took recommendations from fellow parents and friends and a bit of luck to find it. Here are some of our favorites:

We discovered this catchy rendition of the ABC song thanks to our friend Corry.

We have CD’s of local rock star Big Jeff on repeat in the car. His style is reminiscent of everything from Ween or The Beatles (think “Strawberry Fields”) to ska and hard rock. Jax is a huge fan (and his parents are too).

Big Jeff I

Big Jeff II

This heart-breakingly sweet lullaby is by Renee and Jeremy, found via our friend Curran.

It’s a Big World

There are also some awesome CD’s that have been given to us:

Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wriggle and Shake (Thanks, Abby!)

French Playground (Thanks again, Abby!)

Down at the Sea Hotel (Thanks, Mom and Dad – and love that Lucy Kaplansky autographed it, too!)

They Might Be Giants has a bunch of kid stuff, too (Thanks for the recommendation, Andrea!):

So what about you? Do you have any kid or kid-friendly favorites?

DIY Baby “Taggie” Blanket

2010-01-26T13:59:47Z

I’ve been having fun using up scraps of material and ribbon pieces I’ve collected to make Taggie-like baby toys for friends’ babies. If you haven’t seen one before, check out the professional version here. If you have a sewing machine and can stitch a straight line with it, try making one yourself. I’ve made a couple of small versions as well as receiving-blanket-sized ones for twins born in November.

The tutorial is here.

My creations:

This donkey-covered mini blanket was for friends Meg and Steve’s baby. The fabric is from our old neighborhood haunt, Purl Soho. They’ll let you buy as little as 1/4 yard, which is enough to make three sides of a mini tag blanket {so go ahead and splurge on the fancy designer prints}. Check out the donkey one here.

I like to use at least one side of fleece to create an interesting textural experience, as well as give the blanket some weight. The back:

I made an almost identical one for Amanda and Jonathan’s baby, only I used a squirrel fabric for the front. I don’t think I have a picture, but here’s the fabric swatch:

Check it out here.

The baby blankets I made for the twins had fleece on both sides:

My biggest tip is to use a variety of widths, lengths, and textures for the ribbon “tags.” So many versions I’ve seen are matchy-matchy and use a lot of pastel colors. In my experience with babies and toddlers, the more contrast the better. Once you start saving ribbons from various places (handles from fancy shopping bags, packaging for household goods, gifts, trim from old clothes) you’ll be sure to have an interesting mix of colors and textures that will hold a baby’s interest. I use satin, velvet, lace, ridged, and sheer ribbons – whatever I have on hand!

Give it a try and let me know if you have one to show off!

Holidays in Florida, Part 2: Christmas on the Gulf Coast

2010-01-26T13:57:29Z

December 24, one of the few beach-worthy days:

You can’t keep this kid out of the water!

December 25:

Dots and Doilies Baby Shower

2010-01-24T21:31:28Z

We hosted a baby shower yesterday for friends Amanda and Jonathan. It was a blast, from the planning with a cool friend of the mom-to-be to enjoying the company. And the parents-to-be took away some nice loot and heartfelt well-wishes that I hope helps them feel prepared – and maybe even more excited! – for the arrival of their baby girl.

Doilies don’t seem like the most modern of party decorations (and I was trying to avoid anything over-the-top girly, since that’s not really Amanda and Jonathan’s style), but I thought they contributed an interesting visual element to the dots and circles in the ribbon and other decorations, inspired by this modern baby shower.

I made the mobile-esque hanging decoration out of an embroidery loop and some paper circles glued to ribbon.

Cucumber Boats from this Vegetarian Times recipe.

Honey Baked Brie: Just bake a honey-drizzled round of brie on parchment paper at 350 for about 20 minutes. It sounds weird and looks weirder, but trust me on its tastiness! I meant to add thyme as well but forgot.

I used this sugar cookie recipe and cookie cutters from here.

Vanilla pudding with berries (a cheater’s version here).

Pots of chocolate mousse with grated chocolate topping (the cheating version here).

The parents-to-be!

Guests included 2 other little ones around Jax’s age.

Present opening begins!

Favors: sugar cookies wrapped in parchment paper with a doily wedge accent, all tied together with ribbon.

The aftermath of a successful grazing station.

The Daily Report

2010-01-21T14:17:36Z

One of the things I absolutely love about Jax’s preschool is that each day we get a report of what he did. There are lists of activities and moods and foods that are circled, but there is also a hand-written summary of the highlights. Yesterday’s report was sweet, so I thought I’d share:

Jax was so helpful to one of his friends today. He tried helping Tyler up when he stepped on the toy and went down on his bottom. At sensory play he laughed while trying to lick applesauce off his mouth. He danced and said his name “Jax” when I showed him his photograph.

I’m saving the reports in a binder and it’s fun to look back at the progress he’s made. Since he started going in August, Jax has come so far, from crying and crawling to walking and talking.

Before I leave the blog for now, I have to share photos of our young Frenchman-in-the-making. Jax is now the proud owner of a beret and a Citroën Deux Chevaux. Merci, Josiane et Gérard!

Back to the routine

2010-01-18T14:51:58Z

We came back to find lots of snow, and then some new snow fell. This is the view out the back window.

Thanks to Abby, I have found some great ideas in this book about Montessori methods. To practice pouring liquids, the editor suggests using lentils first. It was fun, but still a tad messy.

It’ll soon be time for haircut #2.

Trying out snow boots for the first time. Jax wasn’t a huge fan.

He is a huge fan of shapes, so I cut up a sponge into various shapes and we played with paint. We used a cap for the circle.

The play table is an end-table I found in the garbage and refinished. The chair was also a garbage find our neighbor offered to us. It’s a work in progress and I’m not quite happy with the results yet, which is why I haven’t blogged about it until now!

We took a day trip to Beacon this weekend. It’s a way-hip artsy place that is home to a fun burger joint. Here, Jax is enjoying the fries under the artwork on display.

We checked out Dia:Beacon, a contemporary art museum. Jax found a playmate for a staring contest.

He also enjoyed throwing snowballs and watching them disintegrate.

The major development this weekend: Jax loves to brush his own teeth now that he can reach the sink! He’s jealous of Seth and my electric toothbrushes, however, so we’ll build on that enthusiasm and get him one of his own.

Lastly, we made a reading corner out of a dog bed we picked up at Home Goods. The pillows need some decorative work to look more enticing to a 16-month-old. I’d like to do a fabric-collage kind of thing using some souvenir dish towels from Europe. But the cozy corner is already a hit!