buzzed my eyebrows off

buzzed my eyebrows off,
originally uploaded by marniduffy.

on accident, of course. the most stupid part about it was that i didn't realize how short the left one was, and went right on to the other side. oh big duh.

all you kids out there wonder why your mom doesn't seem like she has a brain!? it's true. you sucked the life out of it.

ugh! my eyes have big bags!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great! Good time spent with lots of family, good food, and good conversation. I am grateful for my family!

Last week was kind of crazy. Fern has another ear infection, so that always throws us all through a loop. We are monitoring her for 3 months to see if we need to see a specialist. However, she is so cute, and I just love my two little ones. With school starting soon, I find myself savoring my time with them a bit more. I am worried about a lot of the details, but I am trying to not worry about it. Usually the things I stress about never even become an issue.


I have learned a couple of things to help my website improve. Thank you to my brother Kevin! You are great!

I have to go finish this shirt I am working on while I can!
Oh, another update: I am changing my Etsy shop to this location. More info to follow!

Philly Etsy Team

So I recently joined the Philly Etsy Team. I went to my first meeting this past Friday night, and I had a good time. Though I don't consider myself the most dedicated or successful Etsy seller, I still am interested in getting involved. I was inspired by the meeting. Here I am featured in a photo on the blog: phillyetsy.blogspot.com. I'm the one on the far right with my back to the camera.
We are planning some more Craftadelphia events (which I have not ever been a part of), as well as possible charity sale events, and a newsletter, among other things. I hope school doesn't suck the creativity out of me (or rather, the time or space to be creative), but we'll see. Physics is a rather visual topic, so hopefully it'll just be inspiring. One day I'd love to be designing and creating full-time when my girls are in school. That's the dream!
For now, I'm working on learning CSS so I can make my website a little less lame. Plus, it's been good practice to hit the books and learn. Hopefully my website will be updated really soon!

New Shirt

Here is Sage in a shirt I designed and made from recycled sweatshirts and tshirts and lace.
It was really hard to photograph her, even with the treat of candy as a reward. The light is tough in rowhouses! I wish I had Carina living in our house to help me! That would be amazing.

I drafted a simple pattern, then made the kimono design, then stitched it up. For the sleeves, I used an old pattern piece from a McCall's pattern, but I altered it.
I am happy with how it turned out, but there are certainly some adjustments I will make for future sales. The sweatshirt material is too thick to be used in this design: it didn't hang the way I envisioned it, it was tough to sew, and the shirt just looks too bulky. I was kind of going for that "short sleeved sweatshirt" look, but it ended up weird.
The cuffs around the neck were taken off of other tshirts, and in the future I will certainly add one big long strip of ribbing after the shoulder seams are made so that it's smoother and easier (like how most tshirts are made).
The shirt is cute, and I am stoked to be designing and making my own clothes. I am trying to get better at being a constructive critique of my mistakes, as opposed to lingering on it not being hugely "successful".
I guess that's life?

New Hat In Shop!

Here!

"Get in There"

Here are the girls this morning. It reminded me of 'Hansel and Gretel', kind of.


We spent a couple of days (okay, 1.5) in the 'burbs with my mom while she was in town. We left with kids on the brink of sickness, and this morning woke to coughs and sneezes with massive snot rockets. Oh Joy!! Saline spray and homeopathic 'cold tabs' it is...

I haven't been sewing at all the last couple days. But I just got an Etsy request for a toddler cycling cap, so perhaps I'll stitch a couple of them up.

Kind of boring around here! I guess the excitement is just tending needy little ones while they're feeling under the weather. That is truly an important job, I am trying to remind myself.

Daddy's Helmet

This little Fernie is pretty edible. How my love for each of my children is so different. I loved Sage from a point in time I cannot put into words, but Fern was different. Sage's birth was so dramatic, that when I finally held her in my arms and knew she would live (and so would I), I loved her so deeply. My love for Fern seems to grow exponentially with each moment. Sage is so much like me that we often butt heads. Fern is so much like Tray that I find it hard for me to hold a grudge (for example, not getting more than an hours rest at a time at night) because she is just so stinkin' cute. Example above.
They are so little, yet I feel like this has been an eternity of life. I am grateful for that.

Tonight our next-door-neighbors came over to hang out (and to tell me that they 'have my back' in defense of another aggressive neighbor who came to my door today). How great it was to hang out in our home with them. Tray and I are sad it has taken a year to make happen. We want it to happen again soon. What a gift (to have great neighbors, not to have neighborhood strife!!)!

Back of Longies

Back of Longies,
originally uploaded by marniduffy.

Okay, kind of obnoxious that I am posting THREE times today, but I just whipped up another pair of recycled wool pants for Fern. Also, Tray started his own blog today, which I am really excited about.

All-In-One Diaper

So in keeping with the budget cuts in our family, I made Fern another diaper. This is called an "all-in-one" or AIO. That means it is pretty much a disposable diaper, but you wash it. By that, I mean that there is only one piece, you don't have to stuff it or lay anything inside or put plastic pants ontop of it. I am really happy with how my new machine handled all of the different layers and materials, especially the velcro, with little to no adjustments being made by me!
We will see the true test, the one that really matters: the poo test! Results coming soon!
Now I'm off to finish another pair of recycled wool pants for her. So far I am loving them! The only problem is that I don't have enough 'standard' size diapers that actually fit on her!

Crazy Children

I feel like I haven't posted in ages, though really it's just been a couple of days. Fern is cutting about 5 teeth right now, so any time I have during the day is spent resting or cleaning up the house. Last night she finally slept more than an hour and a half at a time, thank God! These days with little ones are so long, but I keep telling myself that in a few short years, I will be yearning for the days when they were like this.

New Wool Pants

Here are Fern's new pants. Since yesterday's realization that we SERIOUSLY need to curb our spending, I have resolved to cloth diaper as close to full-time as possible. For me, cloth diapering consists of a diaper and a diaper cover. I ran out of diaper covers really fast! Usually, you can change the diaper and not the cover, but Fern has managed to poo all over all the covers so fast! The other problem is that her cloth diapered bum doesn't fit into many of her clothes (certainly not onesies, and not many pants). So I made her these pants today out of sweater sleeves and elastic. We'll see how they go. I need a clothes drying rack so that our electric bill doesn't go out the roof.

Budgets and Flying Scotsmen

Two nights ago, Tray and I watched 'The Flying Scotsman'. I really loved the movie, and I was particularly moved by the scene in which the main character is verbally attacked by his childhood enemy.
"You're a nobody," he said.
It made me reflect on times in my life when I have felt that way. Whether it was a person, a group of people, life happenstance, or even something I did to someone else. I feel like I have "dealt" with most, if not all, of those times, whether through journaling or talking it out with someone. But sometimes I remember a specific moment, or someone's face, and the rawness is still there. I am beyond grateful for my faith, because I can bring that hurt and emptiness and sadness to God. I don't have to put it in words. I don't have to compose myself. I don't have to act like I have it all together. And as lame as it may sound, I often meditate on being held in the lap and arms of God, in a warm, quiet place where I am safe right now. A somebody. It doesn't make the hurt go away, it just helps me know that it is okay to hurt...but that I AM loved and I am not alone.

On to more mathematical issues. We have not been keeping a monthly budget for months now. We stopped keeping track out of laziness and folly, and I finally kicked myself into gear last month and kept track of our spending. Wow. That's all I have to say. We need to reign in for reals. I am going to be cloth diapering and cloth wiping it up, watching our food costs, not buying expensive beer, and changing our internet access. Also praying for good attitudes and joy in being wise spenders!
Speaking of math, I am headed back to school in a couple of months. I am pretty nervous. I will be taking 'Introduction to Modern Physics' and 'Mathematical Physics'. Needless to say, I am nervous about school and nervous about the girls. But, I am really excited about Mathematical Physics, as that is what I'm into. Modern? Not so much...too theoretical. But maybe inspiration for some cool clothes?

Pizza

We've been eating a lot of pizza around these parts. Sage likes to help me with the dough. It is SO nice to feel like she is finally able to actually help me with things, instead of "help" while ruining everything! Don't get me wrong, many times her helping turns into more frustration for both of us, but I am figuring out how to plug her into my projects so that she feels useful and productive. I am grateful for her crazy little spirit.

I also posted two new items to my Etsy shop today:

Hubbs

Marriage has certainly been an adventure so far. We got married after knowing each other for less than 2 years! I have been ever so grateful for Tray, for our marriage, and how our marriage has taught me so much about God's love. Mainly just that Tray loves me, even when I am being a total jerk or I am being totally immature or just straight up mean. Sure, he probably thinks I am annoying and silly, but he still loves me. And that love is so minute compared to God's. It's not our anniversary, I am just feeling grateful for him today. How could you not feel grateful for this guy, who cleans our kitchen and wipes our floors and washes our car on a regular basis??

Vote

This is the first election I have voted in. I regret not voting last time around. I took Sage to the polling place with me, which was a block away! Thankfully the line wasn't too long and she behaved. As we left, she said, "We gonna go to the boat now, Mommy?" I guess she thought it was going to be way more fun than it actually was.

Sickness has been abundant in our family, and most families I know. I guess it's the season. We took Fern to CHOP's ER on Saturday because we couldn't tell what was going on. Both girls have this nasty cough and Fern just wouldn't sleep and seemed to be in a lot of pain. It was just a cold, but her left ear was on its way to being infected. I opted to let it go for a couple of days and just gave her Tylenol for the pain and some homeopathic treatments, and it's been fine. Last night she was only up once! Thank God!
I am excited to see how this election turns out. Hear Hear! However, Tray and I have been passing out in the 8 o'clock hour, so we'll see how that goes!!