Hey Fans of Applesauce Crafts!

Hi everyone! I'm not entirely sure about the new Facebook giveaway rules, only that you're not allowed to do them unless you buy like $20,000 of ad space or something ridiculous like that. So...welcome to my blog giveaway instead. Which has ~nothing whatsoever~ to do with Facebook :)

I'm so pleased people are enjoying the things I make for Applesauce Crafts. I love to do it, it really gives me a good outlet being a sahm. And it gives me a reason to load up on ridiculously cute fabric.

So...thanks to all that are my fans on Facebook, that have hearted me on etsy, and that have made purchases. If you haven't done so yet, why don't you head over to one of those places and fan me/heart me/or buy something?

I would like to say thank you by giving away a bib or a Wee One of your choice to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment with your favorite bib from my shop, or a suggestion of something you would like to see, or the color combo of the owl you think would be a keeper. I'll randomly draw a number Friday, February 5th, and let you know who won!

Again, thank you guys so much for supporting handmade and my little corner of etsy!!

New Friends

When we moved here we started going to story time at the library. There was a mom there that had a little girl a little older than Ingrid. I would smile and say hi, and as the weeks went on we'd talk a little more each time. I saw the mom and her daughter at Whole Foods and finally introduced myself so at least I would be able to call her by her name instead of "hey you!" Then story time took a break and Ingrid's nap schedule changed and we didn't see them for a long time. When we did this summer, the mom was about ready to have baby #2, the first I knew she was even pregnant...I thought hmm, I should really get her number so we can hang out but she's got a new baby coming, we're probably moving soon. Why bother?

Well, fate threw us together again, this time at the post office. It's been five months since I've seen them, but the other day as I was mailing something I heard a mom say "Okay, let's mail the diapers!" I turned around because anyone mailing diapers is probably mailing cloth diapers, and of course I have to see who it is...It was the mom and her daughter! And the first thing out of my mouth was "I have to get your phone number so we can have playdates!"

She came over today and it was so fun. Her daughter, P, was kind of shy at first. She just stood there as Ingrid tried to get her to play with her kitchen stuff. P started to play, then walked away, which Ingrid didn't get. She physically grabbed P and turned her toward the kitchen! My little subtle girl...The girls warmed up to each other and played really well, and I got to chat with the mom. We have lots in common, which is something I'm finding that by living here I do tend to meet a lot of moms with similar ideas. I got to watch her with her baby, all wrapped up, napping as the mom swayed while we were having a conversation. Which of course made me want to get started on #2 so I could sway with a sleeping baby all wrapped up close to me.

P is adopted and we talked a lot about that. I always thought about adoption, thinking I wouldn't be able to get pregnant, but once I did have Ingrid, I stopped thinking about it. This family is so awesome, though, they have one adopted, one biological, and are starting to talk about adopting #3. It was really interesting to hear about the process from someone that's done it, hear about the wait, the paperwork, the reasons behind it. I just love that they choose to adopt even though they could have their own. It made me think about bringing another life to this earth just because I want one. Maybe I should go back to thinking about adoption if I want another so badly. That was always my main thing when talking about having one kid--there are so many people in this world, I don't really need to make another. I have love to give, doesn't matter where the kid comes from!

That is the thing I love about making new friends--as much as you have in common with someone, there are always differences. And differences are good--they make you think about why you believe what you do and either challenge you to think differently or confirm your beliefs. I'm glad I ran into her at the post office, I'm glad we exchanged numbers, I'm glad they came over today, and I'm glad I have the opportunity to meet new people!

What a Good Day!

This morning I thought today would suck. Ingrid was up until almost 2am last night, in and out of our bed, crying, and being unhappy. And then even after all that she was up at 6:30! I could barely open my eyes this morning, even after three cups of coffee.

But...we had a great day! It snowed a little, which Ingrid kept talking about. We made more paper snowflakes for our window since she managed to rip off most of them. We colored, of course, and I cleaned, although you wouldn't ever know it looking at the mess that's all over now.

Ingrid (and I) took a nice nap and then ate lunch. We took the dog outside, even though it was freezing! The dog park gets this huge lake in the middle when it rains, and then it freezes into a little ice skating rink. Ingrid loves to watch me wobble and slide on it, and even tries herself. It was so cold, I felt bad about her little chapped cheeks, but she cried when I said I needed to go in. My ears were frozen even with a hat on...Yuck winter.

When we came in I made cupcakes. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook? I adore it. Every time I need to make something there is a nice straightforward recipe in there. I got a Martha Stewart one from a friend, but she was right--it's too fancy! I never have most of the ingredients she calls for, and none of the molds/pans/fancy serving things she demands. But the BHG cookbook is awesome. I made yellow cake, which looks really good, and once they're cooled I'll make chocolate cream cheese frosting to go on top. Mmmmm!! My pants are busting open already!

Then the maintenance man came to tell me that yes, our dishwasher was broken, and no, he can't fix it. So I have done dishes four times today!! I forgot what a pain that is, I've been spoiled for a year now with a dishwasher...Ingrid helped me do dishes, and by helping I mean splashing and taking a cup and pouring water all over the counter and floor. The silver lining of that is that I got to mop the floor afterward! Which sadly has not been done since we've moved in, I bet.

Once one set of dishes were done, it was time to make dinner--ham and pepper quiche. Ingrid was still splashing in the water, therefore taking up two of the three tiny areas of counterspace. I had to move stuff around and try to make room to roll out a crust, but I managed! I am always so stupidly proud of myself when I can make multiple things in our tiny kitchen and have a toddler underfoot.

So now, quiche is in the oven, cupcakes are cooling, Ingrid's watching Charlie and Lola and I'm about to go change my clothes because they are a pastey mess from dishwater and flour. But overall great day!

Daily Life in the Liddle house

I feel like I've been missing for awhile. It just seems like nothing has been going on. Ingrid and I are home most of the time, as Brendan takes the car to work. It's been going well, the whole one car thing. I like to be home most of the time. I tend to get more stuff done that way.

Ingrid has been so cute lately, her vocabulary has exploded! She sings along to songs now, which is super adorable :) Life with her revolves around blocks (the best thing I got from swapmamas, for sure!) her play kitchen, and coloring. Those are the only three things she wants to do. Brendan and I have fun making the most ridiculous towers possible, which is more fun than I thought it would be.

I've been getting a lot of sewing done. I got a pattern for baby shoes and have now made three pairs. They were difficult to do the first time but now I think I have the hang of it. They look so cute, it's hard not to imagine a little baby wearing them...

Which of course brings us to our family and whether we'll expand it or not. Of course. I have been pro-baby #2 and talking about it probably too much. Asking Ingrid if she wants a baby brother or sister, as if she has any idea what that means! Looking through the baby name book, imagining what names would go well with Ingrid (Felix? Alister? Harriet?) Making baby shoes and thinking I shouldn't sell them but save them for my own child.

But, like last time, we're just not in the right place yet. According to Brendan...He is finishing up his fellowship and we are planning on moving in the next few months for his new job, wherever that may be. And we want to buy a house in the next couple years, too, so there are so many factors in our lives that are up in the air. I'm sure it's the sane, rational, adult thing to wait until we figure some of them out, but my hormones say otherwise.

*sigh*

We'll see. Story of my life. When are you moving? We'll see. Where are you moving? We'll see. What job will Brendan get? We'll see.

New Felt and Fabric Makes Mama Happy

Today I went and ran errands by myself.  How ridiculous is it that going to Target and Joann Fabrics without a kid in tow is my idea of girls day out??  I was so excited to be by myself, to browse through Target and check out all the little baby stuff for a friend that's due in a couple months.  I had to try on bathing suits, which in itself is very NOT exciting, but to be able to shudder at my fat bottom without a kid in the dressing room with me made it a bit more doable. 

And then I got to roam through the fabric store and not worry that there was a line at the cutting counter.  I got into a conversation with two grandmas about what they were making and how they started sewing when they were my age.  And now their daughters are 43...Someday Ingrid will be 43, how insane is that??  I got a bunch of new felt and a couple yards of the best green fabric, and some of the felt was in the remnant bin, which means half off! 

I got home to a happy girl and husband, and after Brendan left to go to work I put Ingrid down for a nap.  Usually I can't lie down until I know she's sleeping but today I just closed my eyes and drifted, took a 20 minute cat nap to the sounds of her reading her books in bed, and I woke up to silence.  She fell asleep with stuffed animals and books in bed with her!  Score!  I was fully prepared to get up and get her up and try to figure out what to do this afternoon, but now I can keep relaxing and get some sewing done! 

Great day. 

Damn You, Hormones!

Now that Ingrid's back to her normal-ish sleep patterns and sleeping through the night mostly, and taking naps, mostly, I'm back to wanting another wee one.  Why oh why does my mind just change ~poof~ like that??  Brendan and I talked about it again this weekend and we both were like hmm, maybe another would be nice.  When just days before Ingrid was screaming at 11pm and we were like NO MORE BABIES!!  Funny how hormones just kick in and whisper sweet nothings in your ear about soft, cute, cuddly, squirmy little ones with those big eyes and cute noses and little teeny tiny feet and you suddenly want to go get knocked up. 

*sigh*

An Ode to my Husband

I just wanted to let the world know how much I love my husband.  Nothing in particular made me want to sing his praises, I was just laying in bed this morning thinking how awesome he is.  Here is why I love him:

1. He is very motivated in his career, but not for money or personal gains, because he actually loves what he does.  He is a chemist and I think that's cool he's so into science.  I don't do science...

2. He never once, in all our poor times, suggested I get a job instead of staying home with Ingrid.  He knows how important it is.  I think I've mentioned this before, but I feel very strongly about this!  If he ever made me feel guilty about staying home, I would always think I'm not pulling my weight.

3. He is appreciative of what I do for no pay.  He always thanks me for cleaning, cooking, doing laundry.  He sucks at all of these, so I'm glad he sees that I have my pros :)  He usually notices things and comments on them (after years of me aheming and nudging he finally gets it!)

4. He has a great sense of humor.  We laugh together all the time.  We have the same silly things that make us laugh.  I think that is so important, it keeps us calm to laugh at things. 

5. He also has a serious side that is very concerned with politics.  I love that he keeps up to date on things.  I have to say, I don't so much anymore, so it's nice to hear things from him.  He is passionate about things and I love that.

6. He is motivated to do things.  I remember when I first started dating him, there was a movie being filmed in Milwaukee and they needed extras to play baseball or be in the stands.  Brendan went and waited for hours to see if he could be one of the baseball players, and I remember thinking that was so awesome.  He thought about doing something, and he did it!  Past boyfriends were very unlike that, they would talk for ages about doing some stupid thing and then never get around to doing it.  It really stuck out in my head when I met Brendan and he would actually do the things he said he wanted to do!

7. He makes me motivated to do things.  He wants to go out and hike, or this past weekend we went to an indoor pool to go swimming.  I would not have done that (a bathing suit in January???) but because he wanted to, I did.  And it was so much fun!  It's nice to have someone not want to sit on their ass all day long. 

I hope other married people feel as lucky as I do to be with their partner.  It sure makes those dreary days less dreary to be able to spend it with someone you love so much.

Daydreaming about Fabric

Is it stupid that I'm totally daydreaming about all the fabric I'd buy if I had the money?  I love love love to look at fabricworm.com and see what's new, what's on sale, and think about what I'd make with the fabric if I bought it.  Here are some of my new faves: 

Aren't they so cute???  Maybe if I actually sell some stuff I can justify buying more fabric, but right now I know I shouldn't.  Dang it.

Ah, Heavenly Sleep.

Ingrid's napping right now as I type this.  Hooray!!

Yesterday she did not, but I rolled with it, took her out and let her play, and then around 3pm when she looked really tired I put her in bed with her glow worm and some books and she was quiet for an hour.  Hooray!!

Also yesterday, she sliced her finger open on a can lid and we had to go to the ER.  You can read all about it here.  No fun, but thank god she didn't need stitches or anything.  And she doesn't seem to be in any pain today.  Whew.

Last night she was back in our bed, but you know what, whatever.  I know I need to be consistent but I also know I could not physically deal with another night of crying.  After no naps for two days and broken sleep at night, and a trip to the ER, I was just too exhausted to care if she was in our bed or not.  I'm rolling, see?

Anyway, today is a good day.  We played in the snow, made banana bread, took a nap.  I'm going to go sew right now, we may bake some spelt cookies, we'll probably watch Yo Gabba Gabba.  And hopefully we won't end up in the ER again tonight. 

Just Roll With It.

We are having some issues over here at the Liddle house.  Ingrid has been sick and clingy, whiny, non sleeping, crabby, you name it, she's felt it in the span of six seconds...I'm trying really hard to just go with it, let her have her phase of being crabby and sick, nurse her through it with cuddles and patience, but after a week of this, my patience has run out.  I'm going on very little sleep and at 2am, when she's screaming in her bed but doesn't actually want or need anything, it's very hard to see this as a small glitch in our routine.  I start thinking things will NEVER go back to "normal" (whatever that is, anyway...)  Things start becoming massively important, like if we take her into our bed to sleep another night, she'll absolutely never learn how to sleep on her own again.  Or if I go in there to calm her, she'll be up at 2am every single night of her life and I'll never once get another good night's sleep. 

Last night the only thing that got me through was Sarah's post and knowing every mom goes through a period of wondering what the hell is going on with their kid.  This is why I love the blog world!  I feel so much support from other moms whether they know it or not.  Whether I've met them or not.  Whether the issues are the same or not.  Just knowing other moms are up at all hours and dealing with their kids makes me feel a little calmer.

So last night as Ingrid cried on, I just kept saying to myself every minute she cries is a minute closer to morning.  Be consistent, she'll fall asleep eventually.  And she did.  After an hour, many many trips into her room to rub her back and give her a hug and put her blanket back on her, after an hour of cries and wails of mamamama, she fell asleep and slept until 8am.  It was a very small blip in the big picture, one measly hour, but man, in the heat of the moment when all I want to do is go back to bed and curl up under the blankets and go to SLEEP already, it seemed huge.  Alas, it was not.

The same is true of her two days of not napping.  It really drove me crazy to see her rubbing her eyes and asking for her blankets and books only to put her down in her bed and listen to her jumping and singing and not sleeping.  And then getting her out of bed only to have her cry at every single thing that happened because she was so tired.  I was so crazy I almost started to cry.  Not only does SHE need the naps, but dammit, so do I!!  I work so hard every day taking care of her and the house, those two hours of her sleeping are my only time to calm down!!  And then people would tell me their kid stopped napping right around now and I seriously had a meltdown.  Brendan took Ingrid out of the house to drive around and let me nap, I was so upset. 

And now, with my cup of coffee in hand and a clear head from six straight hours of sleep, I can see that it's probably not the end of her naps, it's probably just a phase.  I need to just roll with it, let her talk in her crib if she wants to, not force a nap on her if she's just not going to, not get so upset if once or twice she doesn't nap.  Keep trying and just ride this wave of her being sick and everything getting out of whack.  I really want to be that calm mom who goes with the flow, but it's a struggle.  I have to physically tell myself to remember that, it is so completely not in my nature to do so.  I want to be in control of everything and have things go my way, and sadly, with kids it's just not possible.  So instead of fighting Ingrid, I'm going to fight my urge to have everything under my control.  Let go, roll with it.