November Post

Oh look!  If I manage to post something in the next day and a half I will have managed to blog for 3 consecutive months.  Woohoo!

I guess I could just post that.  It would technically count. 

I haven't really had anything specific on my mind to blog about.  There are lots of things I could write about of course.  Joan is turning 1 on Monday!  She's been learning too many new things to count and showing signs of a strong will of her own.  I'll have to figure out how to break her of that...  haha

I really need a new name for this blog.  I'm not in Jerusalem and I don't have much to say about the kitchen, either :)  Any ideas?

A Girl Has Got to Have Her Ice Cream!

I should be writing about our trip last week, but I'll save that for another time.  This is a very important post I've been wanting to write for a long time.

I love ice cream.  It's cold, creamy, and delicious.  The only reason I'm able to hold back on eating it all the time is because I'm lactose intolerant.  But of all dairy, ice cream is probably the one I splurge on the most.  Therefore it is also the cause of most of my dairy related stomachaches.  It's worth it though, most of the time.

When Joanie was a wee little thing she got a rash if I had dairy.  So for the first time I cut it out completely (except for what was baked into bread and crackers and cookies).  No butter on my bagel, no cream in my coffee, and worst of all no ice cream.  That didn't stop me from exploring every alternative :)

First I already knew of So Delicious Coconut frozen dessert.  I do like the flavor of coconut and they have some fun kinds to try.  But it does lack some of the creaminess of ice cream and all of them have coconut flavor which is different than ice cream.  It is a nice treat, though.

My next discovery was Almond Dream frozen dessert.  I could get this at a store right in the square and was super happy about that.  It got me through many months of cold dessert cravings.  It's definitely not as creamy as ice cream and didn't fully satisfy my craving all the time, but it's a pretty good alternative and doesn't have much underlying flavor like the coconut one does.

 

Creamy ice cream.  Mmmmmmmm.  I didn't think it was possible to find an alternative in a store that had the soft creamy texture of true ice cream until I tried Trader Joe's coconut milk ice cream.  People, this stuff is amazing.  The chocolate flavor is good, but the strawberry is spectacular.  It tastes like fresh strawberry jam and is oh so creamy!



Finally, I saw an ad for Yonanas - a gadget that makes a frozen dessert out of frozen bananas.  Then I saw people on Pinterest doing a similar thing in their food processors.  I decided to give it a try.  I froze pieces of banana and then processed them until smooth adding a touch of cocoa and some peanut butter.  The results were really good!  It is super creamy and is a nice healthy option for my ice cream craving self on days when I have enough willpower to resist the real thing.  I even made a plain (just banana) batch for Joan and some of her little friends and they all enjoyed it. 

When Joan was about 6 months she was no longer sensitive to dairy.  So now I give into my ice cream cravings now and again.  Nothing quite compares to the real thing.  Ice cream is the best.

Projects

This summer and now into the fall I've managed to get a little crafting in.  It's a lot different now with a baby especially now that she can crawl and get into everything!  Sewing is especially dangerous.  I try to keep most of my stuff in our room where I can close the door if something is left out.  Which often means a very messy bedroom.  Crochet and knitting are better because the basic materials needed for that are not as easily swallowed.   I did lose a button the other day that was going on a crocheted vest and worried Joan had eaten it...  Thankfully Dan found it when he got home and we didn't have to look for it in her diapers.

Here's a pretty simple project.  I re-purposed a vinyl tablecloth and old fleece blanket into a picnic blanket.  It rolls up and stays in our stroller for park outings.  It has also been useful as a rain cover for the stroller in a pinch as well.

  

Last weekend I had two baby showers to attend for baby boys.  They were both beautiful showers and very creative!  For the first little man I crocheted this blue and green sweater vest.  It was fun to try as the stitch was pretty new to me and I've never made a vest before.  

For the second little guy I made a tiny little puppy hat.  His family has a friendly fluffy cream-colored dog and I wanted him to match!  This was also a new pattern for me and I'm excited to add animal hats to my repertoire. 

For our anniversary Dan surprised me with an iPad.  Of course one of the first things I thought about was what kind of case I was going to make for it!  A friend of mine stopped here for a night before flying out of O'hare and she had just won an iPad herself.  So I whipped together a little sleeve for it out of felted wool.  I learned a few things from making hers and made my own a few weeks later.  Actually it was just a day or so before I was leaving on a trip also.  I guess I need the last minute deadline to motivate me!  This is mine.  I added a cotton liner because the sweater can leave a lot of fuzz on the screen otherwise.

But a sleeve only offers so much protection if I want to stick my iPad into a bag when out and about.  I really like the cases I've seen that were made out of an old book.  I decided to try making one myself. 

This is the inside of it without the iPad.  Notice the left side is covered in a soft velvet.  Luxurious, no?

The book was originally a children's book titled, "Rain in the Winds."  I liked the cover with the boy riding an elephant.  I used one piece of elastic for the whole thing.  I found buttons that had big enough holes that I could thread it through them but they offer enough hold to keep the elastic tight on the inside even when it's not wrapped around the outside of the book.  I also used the buttons to secure the ends.  I weaved the elastic through the buttons and then sewed it to itself with a little bit of glue as extra reinforcement.  The back looks a little beat up from the holes I screwed through it.  I'd like to figure out something to put around the large hole which is there for the camera.  The book got pretty torn up around that spot.

And there it is holding the iPad with a picture of a little cutie on it.  If you look closely you can also see the reflection of her hand.  I had to fight her off while I took these pictures.  She wants to be involved in everything I do.  Who can blame her?  I should enjoy the days when she thinks I'm super cool while they last, right?

The Months of Summer

How would I summarize our summer?

Hot.  Dry.  Full of family, friends, and a growing baby.

I cannot believe how much Joanie has changed in 6 weeks!  Wow.  She started scooting one week, then the next crawling, then pulling herself up on stuff and now she's getting around and into everything!  It is a lot of fun to see her full of curiosity and spunk.  She was starting to get so frustrated when she couldn't get around and seems a lot happier now with her new abilities.  She has lots of interest in walking, but doesn't stand on her own yet or show any definite signs of that happening soon.  Her newest babbling involves clicking her tongue.  So funny!

Here are a few highlights from the last couple months:

Cousin Gwen and Joan playing in Michigan.  They are adorable together!

Taking Joan Downtown for the first time for Spygame.  The Bean.

 Our first Cubs game.  Joan is a huge fan apparently.

My favorite picture of Joan with another kiddo.  Joan likes other little people and we are blessed to have quite a few who are older than her but so good with younger babies!  Cousin Lewis even got her to giggle while we were visiting.

Newlymom

There are quite a few ways I can tell I'm still in the "newlywed" phase of motherhood.  It's a mental and emotional place that all new mothers inevitably find themselves.  Being a new mom doesn't just mean you don't have a clue what you're doing and will have many stories to tell your oldest child about how she or he was your experimental kid.  It also means you've had a Grinch experience and you're adjusting to the new size of your heart.  Each mom probably exhibits different symptoms.  Here are some of the ways I know I'm still a "Newlymom."

• After Joan is in bed for the night Dan and I always end up looking at pictures of her, watching videos of her, or both.  Never fails.

• At 5 months I finally left her in nursery for some of the church service.  While I was sitting in the service all I was thinking about was how she was doing, if she was sleeping or eating or crying or what.  I kept looking for a good time to go back and check on her and had to use all my willpower to keep me from doing that.  When we reached the end there was a 5 verse hymn!  I leaned over to Dan and asked if we were really going to sing all 5 verses, he didn't think so.  I was happy that he was right and immediately when the song ended I was out of my seat and pushing my way past people to fly to the nursery. 

• It is difficult for me to talk about much beyond babies.  I realize that some people don't just want to hear about sleeping, eating, pooping, bathing, playing and whatever else my baby has been doing lately.  It takes a certain amount of concentrated effort to think outside that box and ask questions that would pertain to another person's life.  And just when I think I've got something, I'll be distracted by a funny face, silly sound, or fuss from the baby in my arms and have to start all over in thinking of the right thing to say.

• I can't imagine my sweet little baby ever being manipulative or disobedient.  I know she will, I just can't imagine it.

• I take pictures and/or videos almost everyday.  

• Many of the cards or e-mails I send contain pictures of Joan.  In fact, she's getting close to having her own greeting card line with my growing Photoshop skills (read: putting text on a picture).

I'm sure there are many other ways to tell that I'm a "Newlymom," but as I said in my fourth bullet I try to think of things that don't just pertain to me and my baby.  So here's my pertinent question...  hmm...  oops.  I don't have one.