Just in the past week or two, Fred V has discovered that there is music that is not sung by his mom that just might be worth listening to. This means that soon, there will be children's music in our house. This is the first medium that my husband and I have to sift through and make mindful choices for our son.
I have issues with a lot of children's music on the market today. A lot of it is insipid, pandering, and utterly obnoxious. Then, of course, there's the whole Disney can of worms. Avoiding, or at least trying to balance, gender stereotypes and enforcement of the status quo takes a lot of careful and thoughtful diligence.
For those of you who may have read the above paragraph and scoffed at my typical, first-time parent foolishness, I will say only that my mother raised two daughters who were neither tomboys nor princesses by making mindful decisions about the media we were exposed to and the context in which it was presented.
So I have begun the process of reflecting on my own childhood favorites, and discovering what's new and wonderful in the world of music for children.
My own hands down favorite is Raffi, Canadian musician and advocate for children all over the world. He has a pleasant voice and sings a combination of original and traditional songs, in French and English. We picked up two of his CDs at our library the other day and I'm pleased to be able to say I still like him.
My only new music discovery thus far was actually made by my sister. Hip girl that she is, my sister brought us one of They Might Be Giants' children's albums "Here Comes Science". TMBG was one of my favorite bands as an adolescent and I actually saw them live several times as a teenager, so I was thrilled to learn they were making music for kids now. V is not exactly ready to learn about science yet, but I think it's fun for him anyway.
Growing up, my TV watching was limited to educational programming almost exclusively and I LOVED learning through music. My favorite show, "Square One", on PBS, was all about math and had several math-themed music videos in each program. I can only hope that I can find such quality programming for V when he's old enough to watch any TV.

I would love to hear about your favorite children's musicians. What do you like?

I do. I have a confession to make. I have a cake deficiency. My doctor says it's treatable though. Seriously, there are at least a few times a week when I find myself declaring that I need to have some cake.
Luckily for me, my friends Audrey and Amanda know amazing things like how to make chocolate cake in the microwave in five minutes. This knowledge just might improve my marriage.

Root veggie pie- yum! Don't serve with ice cream.

The handful of warm sunny days we've had up here has made me realize that-

1 My baby doesn't really like the sun
2 His skin is super fair

Time to make a sunhat! Not being terribly good at/ interested in following directions, I looked at a bunch of hats, read a bunch of patterns, and decided to wing it.
I measured V's head while he tried to eat the measuring tape, got out my husband's nice compass set, and did some Fancy Math. Whoever said you don't need algebra, trig, and geometry probably sucked at making things.
I had a bunch of armhole scraps that ended up being PERFECT for this project, so I'll be making some more...

I figured if I was going to line it, I might as well go the whole way and make it reversible. The little man sat on my lap for almost the whole project, and as you can see, he rather likes the result. I'm ecstatic.

My husband loves Lake Superior. No, really Loves it. At my bridal shower before we got married (and before we moved up here), we played a version of the newlywed game where he answered questions ahead of time and I had to guess (or know) the answers. I got all of them right but one; "Where would Fred like to be right now?" Silly me, I guessed "with me". The answer was on Lake Superior.
Our son was born during the first snowfall up here last Fall and we drove home on the last gorgeous sunny day of the year. Fred REALLY REALLY wanted to take our newborn son to the lake, but I was way too wiped.
This is all to preface our little Easter outing and its huge importance. Yesterday was sunny and in the 50s here, nice enough to take the baby to the lake! Finally! How did he ever live five whole months without seeing Lake Superior?

We are not really holiday people to begin with, we often completely miss them. We don't decorate, not even for Christmas, and have very little interest in celebrating when we are told to. This is not to say that we are un-celebratory people, just not so much calendar-followers.

The Freds had a lovely time testing the frigid water, throwing rocks in to make splashes, playing with sticks and leaves.

I recently got the most fabulous hand-me-down baby carrier from my amazing friend Audrey. It is so comfy and easy and nice for the boy too. The only downside is that there are nylon webbing straps that are just in the right place for chewing, but are not absorbent or delicious at all! I end up with rivers of drool all over me, which will happen no matter what, but I thought I'd give him some texture to chew on. I made this little strap cover from some Amy Butler scraps I had and a piece of thick cotton prefold. The Velcro closure makes it reversible (in case one side get all drooled out) and the boy loves it!

I also made something for MYSELF today! My sunglasses take so much abuse and I tend to wear them until I can no longer see through them. With all the baby stuff I carry around now I'm worried about breaking them altogether. So I made a case for them! I used some Echino scraps I had (my diaper bag is also Echino, I've never been so matchy-matchy in my life) a layer of Warm and Natural batting, and I lined it with some quilting weight purple cotton. I could not be more excited about my special present to myself.

Finally, in my never ending quest to organize the office to perfection, I found some of my old weaving samples and some embroidery a friend of mine had given to me because she thought it was ugly (I love it). I decided to add them to my inspiration wall. It feels like they were always meant to be just where they are. I am delighted and my husband is only a tiny bit horrified.

Remember the story about the little red hen who makes bread by growing, harvesting, and grinding the wheat, etc? That's me, but with plastic, and no, I didn't kill the dinosaurs.
I did make a batch of coin purses from nearly start to finish this week, and wallets are not far behind. Here they are, displayed like the Easter candy they resemble. Yum!

Those of you who read my blog regularly mat have noticed that I was unusually productive this week. My parents decided to forgo a more tropical climate this spring break for a brisker UP visit that included grandbaby-snuggling.
Their visit has reminded me of the benefits of a more traditional multi-generational household. It is incredible the things I can get done in a day when someone can just hold the baby for even a few minutes!
Seriously, my husband and I chose not to have children until we would really be able to raise them ourselves. It was very important to us that one of us be able to be with our child all the time, not relying on daycare or a nanny for many reasons, not the least of which financial. We both were so excited at the prospect of parenthood it seemed ridiculous not to enjoy every minute of it.
I have not regretted that decision for even a second, but I am occasionally in a quandary as to how I can run a household, care for a child, and run a business all at the same time.

I understand much more clearly now why generations past stayed in their hometown, often buying a house down the street from their parents when they were ready to settle down. I have certainly missed my family when I live far away and enjoyed their company when I live nearby, but with the arrival of a child the roots feel so much deeper.
It probably helps that my parents fully support all of my (and my husband's of course) parenting decisions- I know not everyone is so lucky.
Don't get me wrong, the community where we live has turned out to be a fantastic place to start a family. Everyone here loves babies and pregnant women and fathers and families, and we have found so much support, encouragement, kindness, and generosity that I am overflowing with gratitude. But. When my house is a complete disaster and I can't find my pants and the baby is only happy when I am both looking at him AND touching him and NOT doing ANYTHING else and I HAVE to get the diapers in the washer because there are NONE LEFT, it's a little less embarrassing to call on someone you've known your whole life.
Alas, I do not think my parents have an interest in moving to the UP and we are not in a relocate-y time either. So, I will be driving the 2 hours south to see my In-Laws A LOT this summer and attempting to craft some kind of family of my own up here. I have discovered an absolutely wonderful community of other new-ish families here and have benefited immensely from knowing these incredible women and children (and I don't know many of their husbands, but I assume they are also great) and I look forward to strengthening my own ties within this community.th

I accomplished a lot of things that had remained on my to-do list for far too long during this brief, intense, working type of vacation. It feels good- I miss my little guy after only spending 15 hours/day with him. I am also bone-deep exhausted. The little man doesn't sleep his normal sleep of champions when there are such interesting people to look at and who will indulge his every whim. That, combined with me doing some other kind of (however minor) physical labor, leaves me thinking that the best Easter plans would be to stay in bed ALL DAY!

I did not do my usual cooking for the masses this week as my parents have been visiting. This is exciting for me on so many levels.
1. I didn't spend all day Sunday cooking
2. There are people who will not only cook with me, but even FOR me this week!
3. I get to eat things that can't be prepared several days in advance like... PIZZA!
Fred and I made pizzas tonight. We made one nightshade-free one for me with pesto, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and olives. We made one nightshade-laden one for those who need not abstain with tomato sauce, red bell pepper, red onion, and mushrooms. Our local Keweenaw coop has crusts and grated pizza cheese in bulk, making prep work a snap! I whipped up a batch of pesto (I'd post the recipe, but I make it different every time, just using whatever I have around) and we were pretty much ready to go.

Up until pizza time, I was turning these-

Into these!

That's right, I'm plugging away on a new batch of wallets and coin purses! I spent the morning cutting out my surface designs, the afternoon fusing them on, and the early evening cutting pieces. Hopefully tomorrow I can spend some time sewing!

Friday's post will bring pictures of my studio reorganization and some reflections on more traditional family life.

All three pillows for the upcoming gallery show I'm in are done! Two days early- hooray!

I just finished a batch of my new bracelets. Wahoo! They are made from recycled T-shirts and I've had so much fun making different color combinations. Finally my brief hair-braiding apprenticeship is paying off. Find the first one on my etsy shop now and look for a new one every day this week!

My little guy is growing up a bit too fast for my taste. He is convinced that he can (and should) eat everything that his Dad and I eat. He is sitting up and grabbing and yelling and laughing and I'm starting to feel like he's not a baby anymore...
Don't get me wrong, every day is more fun than the last and I absolutely love all the new things he can do, but I'm starting to understand the women who are constantly "missing" their babies.

Remember the fabric from my last post? It is now place mats! I love them so much that I'm working on a coordinating runner...

Yesterday I finished the second of three pillows that will be on display at Finlandia University's Reflection Gallery this summer.

I have the prints done for the third pillow, just have to decide on the appropriate fabric to complement it. You might notice that this is a different printing process from the other two. Printing with bleach on khaki seemed a bit silly, so I thought I'd go for some color.
I found what I thought was going to be some pretty sweet spray on fabric dye in Decatur, but when I tried it at home, it was a disaster! Way to thin to work with any kind of design, it just runs all over the place.
So, I pulled out my textile ink that I hadn't used in a few years and got back to work- no shortcuts for me, apparently! I really like this blue though, I think it's fantastic on the khaki.

Ok, for those of you who know me- it's not what you think. I'm NOT trying to get my 5 month old into Flashdance. No need to write to child protective services.
The marshmallow man is having trouble wearing pants because they pull his diaper down to instant-leak level. I like to dress him in shirts and pants because he can wear the same shirt almost all day long. How can this work, you ask? Hmmm....
I pulled out a pair of my socks with holes in the toe (now I'm GLAD I didn't throw them away, mom!) and cut off the feet. Voila! Instant baby legwarmers.
He looks smashing, if I do say so myself.

On the topic of parental musings, I am happy to announce that my husband and I have finally caught on to what the little guy has known for weeks- he falls asleep at the same time every night! It took us a while, but now we have figured out that if we put on his night-time diaper and pajamas by 8:00, we won't have to wake him up at 11:00 or whenever, hooray!

As much as I LOVE soup, it is so thrilling to find that the weather no longer makes me crave it. Neither of my lunches/dinners were even close to soup but were inspired by even hotter places...

On the way home from Decatur last Sunday, we stopped at the Willy St Coop (where my husband and I first met) to pick up groceries for the week as our local Keweenaw Coop closes at 5 on Sundays. I hadn't really decided what I was going to make yet (gasp!) and was doing some wandering when I saw a lovely display of plantains!

It should be said here that I am a starch girl, for real. Growing up, my Norwegian blood caused me to do things like put mashed potatoes on my lefse (a thin tortilla made from potatoes)! So of course I love plantains, the starchier cousin of the banana.

I knew right away that we would be eating rice and beans with fried plantains this week. You can too, as I've posted the recipe!

My other recipe for the week was also Madison-inspired.
It is my version of the West of the Andes sandwich from the Weary Traveler and one of the best sandwiches in the world.
I can heartily recommend my North of Andes Sandwich, but if you're in Madison, definitely stop in and try it!

Dinner looked so good last night that the little man was pretty sure he wanted some. Luckily, he doesn't know the difference between dinner and a ceramic bowl.

Still obsessed with printing and getting trickier every day! Look for a new tutorial soon. This is an already mutated version of the placemat project from Prints Charming. I used one of their motifs in the center and added my own along the top and bottom. They'll be flanked with upcycled plaid shirt fabric later today. Wahoo!

There are a lot of birthdays to celebrate in my family in April. I love love love making birthday presents. So, naturally, I like April. My nephew is turning 9. He is fun and playful, but also organized and meticulous. What could be better than a shark pouch for such a boy? He has four younger brothers and sisters too, so putting his name on it is a must.
The shark fabric used to be part of a coat my Mother-in-Law had. It's going to make so many fantastic things!
I got this great set of stamps in Decatur this weekend and I have really put them to use. Card-making is always fun, but these stamps make it soo much cooler!

I am thrilled with my new stamp/applique/sewing combination. Hooray!

It was also my Mother-in-Laws birthday this month. I made her this awesome bracelet! The pictures are all her grandchildren and they're on the back of scrabble tiles with their initials on them. It was fun to assemble but an almost disaster to prepare. Drilling two holes through a scrabble tile is a bit difficult. My husband was in charge of the drill press and the heat created by the drilling actually made the ink run!

Shooting the birthday present pictures made the little guy a bit jealous, so we had to let him in on the action.

I'm writing this morning from the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel in beautiful Decatur, Illinois. No, really, it is! The little guy and I tagged along on bigger Fred's business trip just to see something different (hmmm 10 hours in the car...) but so far we are genuinely enjoying Decatur.
First, it's 40 degrees warmer than home, yeah!
Second, there's lots of historical architecture, double yeah!
Third, it's still the midwest so everyone says hello and is all friendly and up in your business, fantastic!
Apparently Decatur has experienced some shrinkage of its population, so there are all these gorgeous old buildings that are just a bit run down. The conference center we're staying at on the edge of town is largely empty but really nice (and I enjoy a bit of desolation).

It's been really nice to experience a Spring that isn't just the melting of snow, too.

The boy and I spent all day yesterday walking the downtown. He got a bit wiped out from so much brightness and warmness.