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Today is the second day of daycare, which I have started calling “school” because it seems more appropriate and is just plain easier to say having fewer syllables and all (I need to conserve energy where I can). Anyway, drop off totally sucked.  He started crying in the car as soon as we pulled up and he saw the big yellow house. Even the peppy little Boston Terrier couldn’t snap him out of it.  When I left he was crying and saying “Baum Baum”, which means “Mommy, Mommy”.  Heartbreaking.

So I’ve basically been crying for an hour.  And beating myself up.  Then telling myself its best for everyone etc etc. blah blah blah.  And now I’m recovered enough to plan my day of distractions.

I’m going to start with sewing.  I’m working on a blanket for the new little baby and it would be cool if it was done before she is born. Following that, I plan to walk 2 blocks and get the longest, most fragrant pedicure money can buy. And if I’m really feeling crazy, I might walk one more block and see a movie.  And this my friends is really out there for me.  I am not a movie goer. I always enjoy them when I go, yet I avoid them like the plague.  The time usually seems better spent doing something social, or at least getting something done – like laundry or yard work. But today it might be the only way to escape my head and heart.

A cute photo from the archives to remind me of how good life is…

UPDATE:
The daycare just sent me a couple text messages. Apparently he is “doing really well today. He only cried for like 10 min! Now he’s playing”.

Also a couple photos…

This past weekend I hosted a baby shower for my dear friends Sara & Mike.  The theme was birds/nests.  I wanted to make it beautiful and dainty. Think tea party meets baby girl baby shower.

Here are some photos.  (sorry about the lighting)

Cigars for the guys…

This is a little wish tree.  Guests write wishes for the baby or mom and dad on the cards and hang it from the pink ribbon.

I decorated the railing with a garland of twig type material and attached small artificial birds.  The morning of the event I tucked in a whole bunch of tiny pink roses. It really made the entry way feel very festive.  The front door had a wreath made of dried grapevine which also had fresh roses and artificial birds, along with faux flowers made from vintage gauze and a nest  I made by hand.

This is a photo of the right half of the favor table. In each box are two tasty and very fresh macaroons from Paulette Macaroons in Hayes Valley.  There were 4 flavors represented – Rose, Sweet Wedding Almond, Madagascar Vanilla, and Violet Cassis.

Ages ago Cheyenne made the cutest little plush doll for her daughter. As soon as I read about it on her blog I knew I had to make my baby one. Of course weeks turned to months, and months turned to more months and it never happened. Cheyenne was kind enough to then also make my baby one. Thank you!

Well I finally got around to making one myself. It isn’t the most well made thing I’ve ever done, but it was fun to make. I used an old brown cashmere sweater I never wear, and a retro looking stretched out T-shirt of Dallas’, with a sprinkling of coral fabric that we used as table runners in our wedding. I really like that I was able to work in fabric from personal sources. Along with organic cotton batting, I also packed the doll with empty baby wipes packaging to make it crinkle. The ears are stiff with the crinkle material.

Just before Easter I saw this tutorial for making an adorable plush bunny out of recycled sweaters. I barely have enough time to maintain a happy baby and a clean home, but somehow I will make this guy (even if it takes me until next Easter!). I will make Maddox a plush toy. I will make Maddox a plush toy. I will make Maddox a plush toy.

This pattern for an owl plush toy uses old baby wipes packaging to make the toy crinkly. For some reason babies LOVE crinkly. If Maddox is having a fit, the only sure thing that will calm him is if I allow him to play with the wipes – crinkle, crinkle, crinkle! One of these days I’ll make a crinkly bunny!

I decided to take some time off from knitting the baby blanket and make our baby-to-be a little hat. I have made some version of the angora baby hat for several friends, therefore it seemed almost a requirement that my baby have one upon birth as well. This one knit up super fast. I worked on it in two sittings, last night and this afternoon – and now its done! Easy peasy. It is a simple K2, P2 rib with some decreasing at the crown. I think I might make matching booties as well.

Yesterday we went to the Alameda Flea Market (a.k.a. Antiques by the Bay). It turned out to be a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning. We wandered around looking at all sorts of stuff. The sun was out, but not yet too hot. Eventually we met up with some friends to say hello, then ate buckwheat crepes filled with brie and such, then ended the outing with some Hawaiian Shave Ice.

There seemed to be a lot of vendors with letters and numbers – in metal, on wood, small, big, etc.
We purchased some small letterpress letters spelling out M-A-D-D-O-X, and some larger metal numbers 1 – 5 to hang on the nursery wall.

I finished up the wooden baby blocks last night. I think they turned out pretty well. The supplies are theoretically non-toxic, so they should be safe for the kid to chew on (though block chewing is still a while off at this juncture).

I decided to make these blocks for the baby. I saw the video tutorial on Martha Stewart Crafts and I was hooked. They are so cute for how easy they are to make.

My supplies just arrived via USPS (as I was rummaging through things looking for something that needed a butterfly with skull and cross bones). So I’ll make ‘em up and show you all when they are completed!

Well, I got cocky, and I paid for it. I painted my design on the screen, let it dry for a day. Then today I was ready to print! I did some testers. Then deciding they were perfect, printed a page of paper in book I made, and then a print on an old tote bag. Again, both looked great. Here they are…

Paper:

Tote:

And at that point I washed the ink from the screen and let it dry. The thought was I’d wait until Dallas was home to help me hold the screen on the white onesie. This would ensure a most decent print. Well the screen dried, and I got antsy. (You have to know that I’m not sure what to do with myself these days. I feel like I’m just waiting for this baby. There isn’t much I have the energy for, so I’m getting a little stir crazy.) I figured the tote turned out just fine, how hard could a onesie be. I was sick of waiting and wanted to get the show on the road. After all, I had a blog post that needed to be written.

I’m not exactly sure how it all happened, but I had ink in places there shouldn’t be ink. It was smeared down below the image and between the antennae. I tried to wash the ink from only those places, but the fabric wicked up the water and began to saturate and smear the design – which was actually quite fine to begin with. So the back and forth began, of cleaning up one mess and making another part worse. Eventually I decided to just try to wash out the whole thing and see if I could begin again, but no. So now I have a faded design on a pretty clean background. All in all, I think it could have ended worse. Now I just like to think it looks worn in, in that faded sort of way.

White Onesie:

So after all that, now Dallas tells me it looks a little girly. Every design I make ends up looking girly. I’m a girl after all. I thought what could be more boy than a skull and crossbones design on a dead (could be!?) butterfly. I found it online as an old sailor tattoo. Perhaps the next round I’ll do it with black ink on a olive onesie, or red ink on a little black t-shirt. Thoughts? Anyone? How can I make it look tough and boy and rock star?

Just completed my very first screen printing project! Wahoo! Dallas was a good helper and looked super cute in his little art apron and gloves.  

The guy at the art store told me I could get the screen filler out just by using a soft bristled brush and regular dishwashing soap – Wrong! I scrub and scrub to no avail. Looks like I’ll have to go buy some actual screen filler remover liquid.

It seems like such a waste to clear the screen and make a new design, but how many chicks do i really need? 

The design was something I saw on a stamp that I altered slightly. Perhaps its a bit girlish, but I liked it, so now the kid has got to wear it. 

Now I just have to let the paint dry completely, then heat set the design with an iron. I think it will be nerve wracking the first time I wash the garment, but no more so than the first time I have to wash the kid.