Mommy Yoga: Retrieving Child Pose

Useful for: retrieving small magnetic letters from underneath the fridge, toys from under the sofa, and toddlers from under the bed.

Strengthens: resistance to fear of creepy crawlies under things while reaching blindly for toys, stretches back and spine

Method: kneeling in front of the piece of furniture that is housing the object of your desire, scrunch down as low to the ground as you can (gracefully, remember) and stretch your hand as far under the piece of furniture as you can possibly reach. Do not, I repeat, do. not. think about mice, cockroaches, or spiders. Stretch your hand (or, in the case of the refrigerator, fingers), back and forth in an attempt to locate object. Grasp object firmly. If retrieving toddler from under bed, grasp more firmly than you think you need to. Pull object out from under furniture. Attempt to uncurl into a standing position.

My toddler seems to find it infinitely amusing to push the little magnetic letters up under the fridge, and then suddenly develop an acute need to have them all out in front of him again. This pose can be combined with the handle of the broom in the case of a fridge that is too low for your arm to fit.

A whole new dimension of exercise is added when the item being retrieved is the toddler himself, as that particular object usually vigorously objects to being retrieved.

Diapers! - Tutorial

So I completely forgot how many diapers a newborn goes through. I borrowed newborn diapers from a friend when I had Theron, and I guess I didn't move him completely into my prefolds until he fit into both the infant size ones and the next size up -- because soon after Lula arrived, I realized that I had about half the amount of infant size diapers I needed.

But-- they are prefold (flat) diapers. Seriously, how hard can it be to make them? Answer: not hard at all! And I actually sincerely hate sewing. So, for any of you who actually enjoy sewing, super easy project.

First, I found material. I used a large sheet we got at the local second hand market (kind of like a flea market) that was a kind of flannelish material. In retrospect, this was not quite as absorbent as I might like, so next time I make diapers (and I'll probably end up making more in the next size up), I would use either a thicker, more absorbent material, or I would double up the material to make a thicker diaper. Just a heads up.

So here's how I made them, complete with awesome instruction sketches. I know, I'm an amazing artist. 

I used one of my store-bought infant-size prefold diapers as a pattern. I cut the sheet into strips that were as wide as my diapers were long (1), and then cut those strips into pieces that were 2 and 1/3 times the width of my diapers, so that I could double them over with the middle third overlapping for extra absorbency in the middle (2).

I then folded the diaper (3), with the middle third overlapping, folded that middle edge over to make a clean edge, and sewed right along the edge (4). Then, I sewed on the other side of that middle third, to make a strip down the middle that was three fabric pieces thick instead of two (5). Finally, I hemmed the edges (6).

That's it! How easy, right? I used sharpies to decorate them, and had quite a good time doing so. You could also sew a strip of pretty material down the outside of the middle, but I was oh-so-done with sewing. Have I mentioned that I hate to sew? This project was definitely a labor of love. And a strong desire to have enough diapers.

Here are some of my favorite sharpie designs:

Other family members got in on the fun, too.

Here are some of Grandma's:

And Daddy did one:

Even Big Brother participated!

After several washings, the gray and brown sharpies have definitely stayed the best, hardly showing any fading or smearing. The turquoise was by far the worst, most of it just washed right out. The other colors have faded a little, with the lighter and greener colors doing worse and the darker and reds/yellows doing better.

When I was taking pictures for this post, Lula was fast asleep, so I drafted Richey the... Giraffe? We've never decided exactly what animal he is supposed to be. But I drafted him to model a diaper.

In summary:
-Very easy project that even someone who hates sewing can complete in a couple hours.
-I would use a more absorbent cloth next time, or double the material.
-I would use only gray, brown, red, purple, and yellow sharpies next time to decorate. (or get fabric pens, if I lived in a place where I could get those)
-I now have enough diapers. It is wonderful.

Lula Anne.

Things I am thankful for:
-Lula's labor went a bit faster than Theron's. 1/10th the time, actually.
-Lula was not actually born in the car. We made it all the way to the delivery room.
-We are back home within 12 hours of labor starting.
-Good doctor with good hearing who lives across the road and can hear my husband yelling ERIN!!!! from our house. 

Things I have learned:
-3 hours is a REALLY FAST labor.
-Sometimes the absolute last words in the whole wide world that you want to hear are "DON'T PUSH YET!!!!"
-Sometimes you just don't notice all the potholes on the road between your house and the hospital. They just don't seem to matter.

Other observations:
Sometimes you find yourself not being quite as nice as you want to be being.
You think, in your head,
"The doctor and the nurse are nice people.
I like them.
They are doing the best things for me.
They know how this is supposed to work."
But then you watch and your hands just won't seem to stop pushing them away when they insist on stretching/pushing on/ "helping" things that you just feel in that moment very strongly would be better left quite alone.
You also for some reason feel like a good thing to inform them of would be the fact that "it hurts."
As if they don't know.
Sorry guys. You really are the best. =]

We are very thankful to be home and feeling good with a healthy baby and a very confused toddler.

Baby Sister: A Photo Post

Pumpkin Curry

When I was in high school, I had an Australian friend who absolutely refused to eat pumpkin pie. He said that pumpkins were certainly not meant to be in sweet things. They were a savory vegetable, and pumpkin pie was as weird as tomato pie or cabbage pie.

Now, I thought this was funny because, having spent plenty of growing up years in America, I considered pumpkins a sweet thing. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter… maybe a sweet pumpkin casserole if you're feeling particularly adventurous. However, after almost a decade of living in Fiji with other cultural influences influencing my perception of pumpkins (and other things), I now consider pumpkin one of the best of vegetables. It is wonderful sweet, and amazing savory, and can be made into SO many things. Pie, bread, soup, curry, pasta, ravioli filling, lasagna sauce, happy little spiced cubes to pile into pitas with tzatziki… pumpkins are a favorite of mine. Pretty much all of these things can also be done with a butternut or acorn squash to much the same effect.

For this post, I shall limit myself to one of my favorite applications of pumpkins: curry. I personally generally like vegetarian curry better than meat curry, although I will certainly not turn down a lamb curry. I am not a big fan of potato curry, but I love pumpkin, jackfruit, and sweet potato curry. So here you are: my pumpkin curry recipe.

Pumpkin Curry (printable recipe)
1 small- medium pumpkin
2 onions, sliced

vegetable or olive oil

4 cloves garlic (smashed or minced)
2 T curry powder
2 T garam masala
1 T cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika or 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional, for spiciness)
1/2 C coconut milk (optional)

Slice pumpkin into halves, scrape out the seeds, and peel the pumpkin. Peeling it is a little labor-intensive-- I've found that a serrated knife seems to work best for me, setting the pumpkin half on a cutting board and slicing off the skin, similar to skinning a pineapple. Cut the peeled pumpkin into about 1-inch square cubes, set aside.

Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with oil, and fry the onions and garlic until the onions begin to be slightly translucent. Add the spices and stir until fragrant, making a thick paste. Add about 1/2 c water, enough to thin the paste and make sure the spices don't burn.

Add the pumpkin cubes, and stir well. Add the coconut milk and/ or enough water to nearly cover the pumpkin (leave an inch or so out of the water, you don't want to drown the pumpkin). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer with the lid on until pumpkin is nearly cooked (about 20-30 min). Take off the lid and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly (about another 10-15 min).

Serve with rice and rotis (see here for roti recipe).