Mommy Moments: Glass Half Full?

When I have to wake up in the night because the baby is hungry, I'm never quite sure what to hope for when I reach for my phone to see what time it is. Part of me is hoping that the night is nearly over, because that means that I've been able to sleep a decent length of time. But at the same time I'm also hoping that it is still early in the night, because that means there is more time left for me to sleep. But I guess as long as I think about the positive side of whatever time it is, I'll be fine!

Operation: Origami

Lately I came across some different origami ideas that looked interesting to me, so I thought that I should actually try doing some of them! I chose three, since that seemed like a good number - one that looked pretty easy, one that looked trickier, and one that looked really challenging! Let's see how they went.

Hopping Frog

The first one one I tried is a frog that you can make hop. You can see the instructions here. I chose this one because it looked pretty easy, and I could remember making something like it when I was a kid. Also I thought Steven would have fun with it later!

It was just as easy as I expected, though still a fun little project!

Barn Swallow

The next one I chose was significantly more complicated. You can see the pattern here.

This one was definitely more of a challenge. There were a few steps when I just looked at the instructions saying "uhhhh...." for a minute or two before I would figure out what I was supposed to do. I'm also pretty sure I didn't do everything exactly right, but it still turned out well!

Tall Ship

This final one looked so absurdly complicated that at first I didn't even consider trying it, but then I thought "why not?". Check out the instructions here.

It was a challenge, that's for sure! There was one step near the beginning that took me an incredibly long time to figure out. I just stared at it for ages, then tried something that didn't work, then stared at it for ages, etc. until something finally made sense. The rest of the process was challenging as well, and I know there's things I didn't do quite right, but somehow it still came out looking like a ship. I have to say I am incredibly proud of myself!

I can remember doing origami quite a lot as a kid. It was fun to give it a try again!

Two Hundred Posts!

I have written two hundred posts on my blog now! I can hardly believe it! To celebrate that number I thought I would share a bit about my blog.

I started blogging over 3 years ago for primarily two reasons: to give myself a place to share my thoughts and what I've been up to, and as a way of staying connected with family and friends around the world. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom of two little kids it has also become something that I do simply because I want to, something that I'm doing "for me", which had been very life-giving.

As of writing this, I have had over 9,000 page views! That number blows my mind, and that is thanks to all of you who keep coming back and reading what I have to say. So thank you, thank you so much for all of your encouragement and support! 

My top 5 posts, according to numbers of views, are:

1. What We're Missing
2. Present
3. 10 Things I Didn't Know About Being A Mom
4. Why We Use Cloth Diapers
5. Full Circle Wrap Skirt

If there are any of those you haven't read yet, I'd encourage you to check them out. Do you think they deserve their place in the top 5? Are there any other posts you've read that you think should be in the top 5?

In no particular order, here are a few of my favourites that didn't make the top 5 list:

1. Spiders
2. The Cake Stand
3. The Journey of the Ringbearer
4. Grapefruit Marmalade
5. Having Jesus for Dinner

Did you know that my blog has a suggestions page? Anyone is welcome to post a comment suggesting a topic for a future blog post. Perhaps it's something you'd be interested in hearing my perspective on or a recipe or diy project that you think I'd enjoy. I'm always looking for new ideas!

I'd also like to take the opportunity to especially thank the people who have taken the time to comment on my writing, whether on my blog or in some other way. Writing can be kind of a one-sided thing sometimes, and your comments, feedback, and encouragement have meant so much to me!

Blogging has been a really great experience for me so far. I am very thankful, and I'm excited to keep writing! I'll talk to you again soon!

Untitled Post

Life has been busy with a two year old and a five month old and moving to a new house and birthdays and family visits, but I figured it's high time for another update post!

Kenneth is growing up quickly. He loves playing with toys and chewing on and drooling over everything. His latest achievement is rolling over!

Steven does everything with 100% enthusiasm and determination, regardless of whether he is climbing, dancing, reading books, wrestling, dumping water on the floor, or insisting on his own way.

One of my greatest joys is watching the boys start to play together. Steven will bring Kenneth toys and sometimes they will just stare at each other and laugh.

I'm still maxed out a lot of the time, but I am always being reminded that I have so much to be thankful for.

Helping Daddy organize the gear room

Nap time with Grandpa

Baking with Mommy

Ready to be a big boy

At Science World with Angie and Auntie Rin

Enjoying his new toys

Shovelling snow with Daddy

Hands full and heart full

The Power of Words

In a devotional that I have been reading, the author challenged her readers to say, "I trust you, Jesus," frequently throughout their day, especially when feeling frustrated or overwhelmed. I dismissed it as sounding rather contrived and tacky, but for some reason the idea stuck with me. The next time I was feeling stressed because the kids were acting up, the thought came into my mind, "I should say, 'I trust you, Jesus'". So I did. And to my surprise, it helped!

Since then I have been saying that phrase fairly frequently, and I've also been thinking about why it is so helpful. One reason that keeps coming to mind is that words are very powerful. We tend to forget this, but it's true. We can see evidence of it all around us. A genuine encouragement can inspire someone to achieve far more than they thought they could. An careless insult can eat away at someone for years. I know I've seen those kinds of effects in my life, and I'm sure you have too.

When I say, "I trust you, Jesus," I am reminding myself about Jesus. It's funny how we can so easily go through our day without an awareness of Jesus - his presence, his love, his forgiveness, his power. I am also reminding myself that I have a relationship with him, and that he has promised to never leave me. I am declaring to myself, to him, and to the world that he is my saver, my sustainer, and my hope. When I say that phrase, I am also changing my focus and my perspective. I am taking my attention off my problems and stress, and directly inviting Jesus to be a part of whatever situation I find myself in. And that changes the reality of my moment.

The power of words even goes beyond whether or not we open our mouths to say something. Our thoughts are words too, and how we think (our "internal dialogue") can have a huge affect on us. It can turn a problem into an opportunity and a hard day into a day to be thankful for.

I'm not saying that we need to just "think positive" all the time. But I do want to challenge myself to carefully consider the kinds of thought patterns I have. When I'm feeling lonely, it's not very helpful to keep telling myself, "No one likes me. I don't have any friends." Instead maybe I should say, "I feel lonely. I should find a way to connect with someone." When I'm feeling stressed, instead of thinking, "I can't deal with this!", I can remind myself that Jesus is with me. One way of thinking traps me; the other gives room for hope.

The words we choose to use can have far more of an impact than we realize. In the way that I talk to others and talk to myself, I want to be the kind of person that uses the power of words for good.

Baked Potato Fries

What do you get when you cross baked potatoes with fries?

I'll give you a hint - it's what this blog post is about!

We love pretty much any form of potato around here, but oven fries has got to be one of our favourites. The only problem is that it takes a lot of time and effort to make oven fries, so I don't do it very often. When I saw this idea for "sliced baked potatoes" on pinterest, I thought it just might be the shortcut for making fries that I was looking for.  Was it? Yes and no. The tops got nice and crispy like oven fries, but the bottoms were liked baked potatoes, thus my conclusion that these are a cross between baked potatoes and fries. Are they still great? Absolutely!

To make baked potato fries (or sliced baked potatoes, whatever you want to call them), you'll need a couple potatoes per person, depending on how big they are. I recommend washing them and leaving the skins on.

Slice each potato into thin slices, but NOT all the way through. One way to do this is lay the handle of a spoon or butter knife on the cutting board behind the potato so that the knife you're cutting with hits it before cutting all the way through the potato.

Put all of the potatoes on a baking tray and fan out the slices.

Drizzle with melted butter or olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Bake in a 425 degree oven for around 45 minutes, or until the slices are brown and crispy and the centres are soft.

Enjoy them plain, or load them up with your favourite baked potato toppings!

Mommy Moments: Dancing Queen

There comes a moment, after joining your toddler in enthusiastic dancing, that you realize that his short stature makes him difficult to see through the living room window, while you are significantly taller, and the lights are on, and it is getting dark outside, and you seem to have drawn the attention of the neighbours across the street.

Full Circle Wrap Skirt

I think everyone has one: that piece of clothing that you've had for years and keep wearing because it's just so nice and comfy. For me, that was a black skirt that I've had... well, I can't even remember when I got it, that's how long I've had it. I can distinctly remember wearing it at theatre camp in the summer of 2006, so I've had it at least 11 years, but probably quite a few more. Let's just say it's getting pretty worn out. Finally this winter it was time... time to replace the skirt.

In order to be a suitable replacement, a skirt would have to be comfortable and all-purpose, able to survive anything from a day running around with the kids to hiking a mountain, as well as making me feel pretty and being nice enough to wear to church. That's a pretty high standard!

I didn't have much hope of ever finding such a skirt by chance, so I decided to try making one. After some Pinterest research, I settled on this tutorial.

The next challenge was finding fabric, since fabric isn't cheap, and I was going to need a lot. Thrift stores often have fabric, but rarely in a large enough quantity. I ended up going to check out a local fabric store, and it turned out that they were having a sale that day and their clearance fabric was 50% off! I found some that I liked, and although it only had 3.5 metres left, I figured I could make that work. (I did, barely.)

The first step was cutting out the pattern. Well, the FIRST first step was folding the fabric in half and laying it out flat, which was probably the hardest part of the whole project. I chose a "knit" fabric that is stretchy and flowy and lovely, but wow it did not want to lie flat.

So once THAT was done, I began measuring out the pattern. My fabric was a bit too small so I had to fudge it a little by making one side the length that I wanted the skirt and the other side a little short, but because it is a wrap-around I figured I could get away with it.

After marking out my pattern and pinning it within an inch of its life, I cut it out. Because the fabric was folded in half "right sides in" (does a knit even really have a right side?) I cut both pieces at once.

Then I pinned and sewed together the one seam needed to attach the two sides of the skirt. Then, in theory, the skirt was done!

In theory.

It did work, but because the fabric was stretchy and heavy the nice waist that I cut exactly the right size for me stretched to be way too big for me! The skirt is supposed to go around your waist twice and it went around three times. So it still worked as a skirt, but kind of defeated the purpose of having a full circle skirt (which is that it is super flowy and full and spins really well). So after some problem solving I decided to add a waistband - one that isn't stretchy.

Digging through my box of fabric I found a brown sheet that I think was a candidate for being made into a cloak at one point in time. It was an almost-shimmery fabric, and I liked the colour combination with my purple skirt. And along the end it had nice band of fabric that was just the right length and had a seam all ready to go! I just removed it from the sheet with a seam ripper and sewed it onto my skirt.

Though only time will tell if my new skirt will live up to it predecessor, I am very pleased with how it turned out!

A special thanks to Jesse and everyone else who took care of the kids on several occasions so I could work on this project!

Mommy Moments: Toddler + Baby

"Having a baby and a toddler is a very interesting experience...."

*Stops the toddler from stepping on the baby.

*Stops the toddler from throwing a wooden block at the baby's head.

*Stops the toddler from poking the baby's eye.

*Stops the toddler from using the bouncy chair to launch the baby into orbit.

*Witnesses the toddler throwing a stone that bounces off the baby's tummy.

"...I've gained a new appreciation for the survival of younger siblings."

On Wanting to Write Profound Things But Being Too Tired

So many thoughts
Swirl around
In my head
To write about
Like birds circling
But refusing to land
Amid the mist
That scatters
The moment
I reach out my hand
To grasp it
To ensnare them
In black and white
On a page
Bridging
From my mind
To yours
To encourage
To challenge
To share
My journey
My heart
But I
Am
Tired