Boston

Sage and I just went to Boston for a couple of days. We took the Bolt Bus up, and she was quite a trooper. The trip up was pretty smooth, but the return trip featured 11 hours of traveling, and a bus for almost 5 hours that didn't have air conditioning or windows. Rough.
We visited my Aunt Lisa and my Aunt Delores. They live in Somerville, and they watched Sage so I could walk to Harvard Square by myself and peek into some cute shops (without toddlers dangling off of me, breaking things, screaming and whining). That was refreshing and restorative!
Here is Sage on our first bus:

And here is a picture of the coolest playground I've seen in my adult years:

A great mix of natural elements that really fostered a sense of creativity and imagination, while still being relatively safe and enclosed. So cool!
I really enjoyed spending time with my aunts, and getting to see my brother and his girlfriend was really nice.
Sage got to see the tree we planted for my mom in May, and we spent a lot of time talking about my mom and crying and missing her, which feels good and right.

Quiet Book finished

I finished the Quiet Book that my mom started for the girls last year. I kind of rushed through some of the steps, something she would have never done. But I really wanted to finish it before this baby is born, and there are still a couple of things on my to-do list.
It turned out really well, and they've been playing with it nicely for about a half hour!

Nautical Toddler Dress

So, there are a couple of themes on Etsy that I keep seeing: nautical, camping, and handmade weddings. I have had this nautical print for a while now, I got the fabric at the thrift store. I've made a laptop sleeve for myself and a wet bag with it, but other than that, it's sat around. Then an idea for a cute toddler sailor-inspired dress came to mind, and here's the result:


Now, I need to make an infant insert for our Ergo baby carrier.

Uninspired

I'm feeling bored, hot, and uninspired today. Ew! I got a couple wet bags sewn this morning while Tray and the girls went to Ikea. Other than that, and reading New Moon, I'm not doin nothin.
But, I am pretty obsessed with this fabric.

Great News

After a trip to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia this morning, I am very pleased to report that this little beauty has a kidney that is very healthy! She had an ultrasound to check on the status of her kidney that was operated on in February. The surgeon said it looked great and he was so pleased that he doesn't want to see us for another year! Of course, we have to be on the lookout for bladder or urinary tract infections, but what a great report!!

In rebourne news, I have been crocheting some organic cotton soap savers for Lisa of Volta Organics.

To-Do List

I am 28 1/2 weeks pregnant, and feeling great. I am finding comfort in knowing that it is MUCH easier to mother a baby when it is still in my womb: I can't hear crying, I don't have to change any poop, and I don't have to nurse every 2.5 minutes. I can sleep when I want to sleep, eat when I need to eat, and I can think somewhat clearly as I am not beyond sleep-deprived!
I am excited to give birth, meet this boy, and nurse again, but at this point, I am grateful for him being healthy in my belly and growing each day.
I also have a long to-do list of things I want to make before he comes:
1) paint the tiny cradle I want to use when he's first born, which I think is actually a doll crib
2) make a mattress for said crib, and sheets, and wool mattress pads
3) make an Ergo infant insert
4) finish the mama pads
5) finish Sage and Fern's Quiet Book that my mom started.

I am so glad my mom has a "spot" now. It feels good to know that we can always visit her there. I am missing her a lot lately, but I feel like I am finally to the point where I don't go to call her on the phone, or still have that feeling that she is away on vacation and I'm going to see her in a week or so. However, I still have dreams that she actually didn't die, and that for a while we all thought she was dead, and she actually wasn't. That is always sad to wake up to, but I feel like I'm getting more and more used to it.
She was working on the Quiet Book tirelessly, trying to finish it in time for Christmas. She passed in the beginning of December, and I'm just finally getting around to getting the cover made. She had even brought a couple pages with her on her trip to China to do all the hand embroidery. It's almost pathetic to see my hand work next to hers, but I want the girls to have it and I want to finish the hard work she started. And it has given me time to think and grieve on her passing, and to honor one of her many talents. 
Photos soon!

Placenta and Pads

Last weekend the girls and I went to the Finger Lakes area of NY to go to my mom's family reunion. It was a great trip, flickr photos here. 
In baby news: at my 20 week ultrasound, there was concern about my placenta being low. I had an ultrasound this morning that showed it has moved up and plenty far out of the way! Yay!
Also, there was fluid in the baby's kidneys at 20 weeks, much like Fern had in utero, but that has also resolved itself. Double YAY!! I cried tears of joy after the technician was finishing up.
In sewing news: I listed some reusable nursing pads in my shop:

I am also getting started sewing my VeryBaby Babymoon Postpartum Pads and may sell them in my Etsy shop if I have time to get more sewn.
We are planning on having a home birth with this baby, and I have to start getting the stuff together for that as well. I want to have a birth tub (our bathtub is so small I already can't fit in it), and I am considering just getting a toddler pool so that we can use it after the birth.

Chair Recover

I recovered our dining room chairs. Nothing fancy, just took off the seats, removed the old material, and stapled new material on.
They were so disgusting from our daily lives and had never been recovered. I don't really like our table and chairs, but they're from Tray's family so I can't justify getting rid of them. New covers helped. I did the first two with some orange and white fabric that I used to make some pillow covers for our couch. Then I ran out of fabric, so I asked my friend Lois what I should do. She's a color master and I love her decorating style. She said try to find another orange print. I was at Ikea the other day, and only had one kid (!!) while Sage played in the ball pit, so I decided to try to get some fabric. I scored this black print and I love the way the seats turned out. We need to get some Scotchguard or something to treat the fabric though, because these seats get paint, pee, food, drinks and dirt all over them everyday. Does anyone know any natural or safer alternatives to Scotchguard? Or maybe a product NOT made by Dupont that will help preserve the lives of these covers? I don't love Dupont or their friends.
Oh, and an updated belly picture, almost into 3rd trimester. Being pregnant for the hottest June on record for the last 137 years? NOT fun. But I'm rolling with it.