Mother's Day Card Workshop

First off, yes.  I am still here.  I have not forgotten about this little blog or you.  In fact, I have big plans in store for the blog.  No, really, changes are in the wind.  But it will be a bit longer before I can share the details with you.  Luckily, I have something fun for you to do while you wait: come make Mother's Day cards with me at the Craft Lake City Artist Workshop tomorrow night!

I am so excited to be teaching this workshop.  It's being hosted at the Provo Craft Headquarters which means we'll be able to utilize fun tools like the Cricut (which can cut pretty much any shape you can think of in the blink of an eye) and the Cuttlebug (which makes lovely embossed images).  And there will be plenty of supplies available to customize your cards however you'd like.  

Sounds fun, right?  You can pre-register right here.  I hope to see you there!

Beehive Bazaar Spring 2012

For the past little while things have been busy at our little house.  The laundry and dishes have been piling up while I've been up to my eyes in paper, preparing for this weekend's Beehive Bazaar!  

The Bazaar is a lovely little craft show where a bevy of talented artists come together to sell their wares.  I set up my table last night and already saw so many little things that need to be added to my wish list right away.  Are you in Utah?  Be sure to stop on by and check it out.  The Lily Jane table has new products to share - wall prints and note card sets that aren't even available online yet.  Plus, we're having a Mother's Day sale - 15% off all note card sets - only at the Bazaar.  So add a little shopping to your to-do list for the weekend and pick up a little something for your mom.  Or yourself - you're bound to find something you love.

Abram's Birth: Part III

This is part three of a series detailing my experiences home birthing my son.  Read Part I and Part II of Abram's birth story.

Our wonderful neighbors came to pick Brady up around 11:30 and the house was blessedly quiet.  I’d been in labor for three and a half hours and had reached the point where I did not want to move.  Somehow I’d released my grip on the bookcases to reposition myself perching on the very edge of the couch.  I was focused: don’t-talk-to-me-don’t-look-at-me-and-don’t-even-THINK-about-touching-me focused.  At this point Craig took it upon himself to call our midwife and let her know that I’d tricked her and she needed to come right now!  He pulled out the inflatable tub she had sent over a few weeks prior and started to inflate it.  I wasn’t planning on a water birth, but I wasn’t about to discount something that might help with pain, so we were blowing it up just in case.  By the time he had it blown up, I had migrated across the rug to a kneeling position in front of one of our chairs, gripping it for dear life with my face buried in the seat.  Rebecca knocked just before noon, Craig let her in and she took one look at me and immediately set to work making our home her own and giving instructions to everyone.  “Craig – give up on that tub, there’s no water in it yet and there’s no way you’re going to have it filled up before she’s given birth.  Meredith – lower moans, not so high pitched.  Stay in control.” 

I was starting to push.  Actually, I had started to feel myself pushing when Craig called Rebecca but now I felt an uncontrollable need to push with every single contraction.  So I pushed.  There’s really nothing else you can do at that point no matter what you want.  It only took a couple of contractions and then – pop! – my water broke all over the living room rug. (My perfectionist self actually thought at that moment, “ Dang it!  I’m going to have to wash that!”)  Rebecca grabbed towels upon towels and layered them all over the floor, first under me and then all around and then instructed me to get those pants off or the baby would be born in them.  I was still gripping the chair for dear life and had no inclination to move any additional muscles but I didn’t want my son to be born in my underwear so with her and Craig helping and my cooperation we finally got the pants off.  And it’s a blur from there on out.  All I really remember is mind-numbing contractions, and Craig asking me if I wanted a drink and me cussing at him.  I was going a little bit too quickly (and I was worried about a long labor – ha!) so Rebecca told me to slow down.  I tried but it felt like the baby was hurtling through me anyway because the next thing I knew he was out of me and in Rebecca’s hands. 

I couldn’t see him because my face was still buried in the chair but she calmly mentioned that the cord was wrapped around his neck a couple of times and proceeded to do a few somersaults with his small, slippery body to untangle him.  Then she handed him to me and I got to see my Abram Joseph for the first time.  He was so big and so beautiful: eight pounds and thirteen ounces.  He looked exactly like his brother had but even chunkier.  A glance at the clock told me it was 12:53pm, just shy of five hours since I'd started labor; my fastest delivery yet.  

Craig and Rebecca made a bed of towels, blankets and pillows on the floor and I lay down on it with Abram nestled against my chest.  I lay there staring at my beautiful baby while we waited for the placenta and Rebecca stitched me back together again.  Soon I moved to the couch where Abram found his way to my breast and nursed for the first time.  The creamy, white vernix that had made him so sticky when he was first born was slowly soaking into his skin revealing an unbelievably soft little person. 

When Abram had finished nursing and I had recovered enough, Craig took the baby for some daddy-time and I headed to the shower – my own shower in my own bedroom – to clean up a bit.  I put on some fresh pajamas and climbed into my own bed where little Abe was brought back to me again.  And then I could really look at and fall in love with my tiny man.  He had so much hair!  Soft and brown.  His face looked just like Brady’s had at birth – almost a carbon copy, but his forehead seemed just the slightest bit taller with a large birthmark on the side.  His hands and toes were identical to Craig’s  - crooked second toe and all.  I looked for Lily in him but the only resemblance I found was that they both looked so much like Brady.  I knew when I looked at him that he was his own person.  He was not a replacement for the daughter I had lost but an additional blessing and would grow to be simply himself, completely unique from anyone else.  And I loved that.  

Abram's Birth: Part II

Sorry to leave you hanging, friends.  It's been a rough time learning how to balance all my responsibilities with two kids in tow.  But here is the much-anticipated continuation of Abram's birth story.  There will be one more part after this one, to keep the post from getting too terribly lengthy.

November 18th was cold. Winter was starting to creep in, whether I liked it or not. The good thing was, this meant I was getting closer to my December 3rd due date. I was so done with being pregnant. Every day I secretly hoped that it would be the day this baby would come out. Delivering my last two babies early (Brady three weeks and Lily five weeks) made me a bit impatient, I guess. We were down to two weeks left with this one and I’d started to try encouraging the little man to make his arrival: long walks, deep cleaning the house, spicy foods, you name it. He wasn’t taking the bait, however, and so we had scheduled one last date night for that evening.

We dropped Brady off at our neighbors’ and then headed over to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. The lobby was packed, which was pretty typical for a Friday night. My gigantic belly seemed to be getting in everybody’s way, no matter how I positioned myself. I was relieved when we were finally seated so I would no longer feel like a road block and because the contractions were making me uncomfortable. I’d been having light contractions very irregularly for a few weeks, just like I had before Lily was born. As hard as I wished for them to become strong and regular and get the ball rolling, they just came and went as they pleased and weren’t anything to make a fuss about.  So we enjoyed our time together and our dinners and ordered cheesecake to go. As we stepped outside to the parking lot, huge beautiful flakes of snow were falling from the sky. Craig went to get the car while I waited by the door and then we headed back home, picking Brady up on the way, to enjoy our cheesecakes in the comfort of sweats and pajamas.

The next morning I was up before everyone else, as usual; my fidgety, restless legs couldn’t take lying still in bed any longer than was absolutely necessary. I headed back to the office to do a little bit of work on the computer where I could get up and wiggle around as much as I wanted. My typical irregular contractions were still there, just like every day for the past few weeks. But by eight o'clock I started to notice that they were actually becoming more regular. About eight to ten minutes apart. “Hmmm,” I thought. “We’ll have to wait and see where this goes…” Craig had to go to the church that morning to help clean and Brady was going with him. He headed out with a promise from me that I’d call him if anything interesting started to happen. I decided to clean up the house, just in case, and by the time they returned at ten o'clock, I was fairly certain: we were having a baby that day.  I was so excited!  But my contractions were still only about eight minutes apart. They were just becoming more intense. It looked like it might end up being a long day.

Still, I started to get some things together for Brady and called the neighbors to let them know what was going on and that he’d be coming over to play for awhile. About halfway through my preparations Craig had to take charge because my contractions were getting too strong for me to focus on much else – especially an excitedly bouncing four year old. But they were still seven to eight minutes apart. Why weren’t they getting any closer together?! I was becoming really concerned and emotional that I was already in so much pain and it seemed like we still had so far to go. I wasn’t sure if I could handle a long labor (again I’ve been spoiled – Brady’s birth was ten hours and Lily’s only six). Craig helped calm me down and I called our midwife, Rebecca, to help calm him down. He was a starting to worry about nobody else being there yet. But I strategically called her between contractions so that she wouldn’t know how much I was hurting. In hindsight that was a bad idea, but at the moment I really thought we still had plenty of time left and I didn't want to rush anybody. Soon, I'd know better.

Stay tuned for Part III of Abram's birth later this week.  And this time I mean it; it's already written and ready to go!  You can read Part I: Why We Chose a Home Birth right here.

The Lodge

When I was a little girl I would spend a portion of each summer in Door County, Wisconsin at a hotel my family owned which we simply called "the lodge."  It was built by my great-great grandfather and remained in the family until just recently.  I have so many childhood memories of the place: giant bonfires on the rocky beach, trekking through the woods to a broken down tree house my sister and I discovered, late nights sitting out on the porch listening to adult banter and the crickets chirping.  I loved that place.

Well, a few weeks ago, my brother - who still lives in Wisconsin - sent out a big box full of old family photos, letters and cards for my sister and I to look through.  Nearly all of them were taken in Door County and bring back so many good memories.  I'm in the process of scanning the stacks of black and white photos into the computer for safe keeping and thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you. 

I love looking through old photos - they bring life to people I never knew and help me feel connected to a long line of rich history.  I plan to hang some of these in my office to remind me of those happy memories. 

Do you have a place from your childhood that always makes you smile?

 Images from the family collection

DIY: Be My Funny Valentine

In my quest to create three unique valentines this year, I stumbled across another thing Brady loves right now: some valentine-themed jokes.  There is nothing funnier to him than a good knock-knock joke.  So, for Valentine No. 2, I decided to make some microphone bookmarks with a joke on the back so the kids could be little stand-up comedians. When they're done making their friends peel over with laughter, they'll have a fun bookmark, to boot!

You can download the files here: front, back-page-one and back-page-two (each back has different jokes).  Print the front first, then insert the printed page opposite of how it was originally and print the back.  You may want to do a few practice runs until you become familiar with how your printer handles the paper.  For my bookmarks, I used 80# cardstock, punched an 1/8" hole in the bottom of the microphone, and threaded some black embroidery floss through for the cord.  

Do you have any funny (and clean, please!) jokes for Valentine's day?  Please share in the comments!

See Valentine No. 1 and Valentine No. 3

DIY: Cereal Valentines

We have three Valentine parties to attend this year.  And some of the same friends will be at all of them.  Which means we need three different Valentines to give.  I wanted to branch out from the standard conversation hearts and red hots to come up with something fun and witty that Brady would enjoy giving and helping me make. 

While perusing Pinterest, I spotted this idea and knew I'd struck gold.  Brady loves cereal, to the point of not wanting to go to sleep because between bedtime and breakfast seems like an eternity to him.  A cereal valentine was perfect for Valentine No. 1, but I wanted them to have a cleaner look.  And some catchy little phrases.  So Brady and I put our heads together and came up with this.  

I made labels for each of the eight boxes of cereal included in the regular General Mills mini pack.  You can print them right here.  Just wrap your boxes in kraft paper (5.5" x 10") and secure with double stick tape.  Then trim your valentine cereal labels on the dotted line, center the label and secure with another piece of tape.  Tie a small wooden spoon to the side of the box using some red baker's twine, and voila!  You're ready to get your sweetheart on.  Enjoy!

• You have a heart of Gold - Golden Grahams


• I'm not playing Trix.  I really like you.  - Trix


• You are my Lucky Charm. - Lucky Charms


• I like you Oh so much! - Cheerios (all three varieties)


• You make my heart Swirl - Cinnamon Toast Crunch


• I'm Cuckoo for you. - Cocoa Puffs

See Valentine No. 2 and Valentine No. 3

Abram's Birth: Part I

I've decided to break Abram's birth story into two parts.  Part I: Why We Chose a Home Birth and Part II: The Birth Story.

Hello, my dears.  Happy Monday!  Maybe it’s the fact that I got to do some yoga this morning before the kids woke up, actually cooked breakfast (yes, it was Cream of Wheat, but still), and somehow managed to get Brady off to school without the usual hectic chaos - but today is feeling grand.  I’m in the mood to accomplish loads of things.  And eager to finally tell you Abram’s birth story.

Abram was born at home.  We chose to do this, instead of a hospital birth, for a few reasons.  First, I knew I wanted a natural birth.  When Brady was born, I eagerly took the epidural when they offered it.  And it was a lovely, pain-free birth.  The only thing was, when the anesthesiologist had come in and inserted the needle into my back he had said, “oh!”  Having a medical professional say, “oh!” while they're working on you is usually not a good sign.  Later, I found that the needle had punctured my epidural space (which I was told was unexpectedly tiny) and I became victim to some killer spinal headaches.  Once at home, recovery progressed rather slowly, too.   

So when I learned that my daughter, Lily, was going to be born with some problems, I opted out for the epidural.  There was a good chance I would have complications again due to my tiny epidural space and I wanted a fast recovery.  More importantly, I needed to know that she was clear of any drugs so they could accurately assess her abilities and health at birth.  Thankfully, Lily’s birth was wonderfully easy.  Oh, it definitely hurt but endorphins are fabulous things:  I felt fantastic within minutes of giving birth to her. 

Having such a positive experience with Lily's birth made going natural again with Abram a no-brainer.  But I’d heard that it could be really difficult to not have any interventions if giving birth in the hospital.  I’d arrived at the hospital doors about 15 minutes before Lily was born, so I didn’t know for myself; there wasn’t time to intervene!  We had our fingers crossed it wouldn’t be quite so rushed this time around.

I decided to read up on home births and research the statistics to make sure it was a safe option for our family.  The more I read, the more I became convinced that it was the right thing for us.  I found a wonderful midwife and began visiting her for my monthly checkups, bringing Brady along with me.  It was the best experience to have a care provider that knew my entire family.  She treated Brady like a grandchild and he always looked forward to visiting her office.

As for me, I looked forward to having a delivery that was free of a crazy last-minute drive to the hospital; where just my husband, the midwife and I could deliver our child; where my oldest could meet his baby brother as soon after as I wanted.  I looked forward to uninterrupted sleep in my own bed the night after the birth.  And I looked forward to giving a child life in the same place where my baby girl had left us two years before.

Stay tuned for Part II of Abram's birth story later this week.  Tomorrow, I'm going to have some Valentine's freebies just for you, my lovely readers.  See you then!

Photos by Craig and me

Counting Blessings

The end of 2011 was a little bit crazy for us.  I count myself lucky that I managed to get all the presents wrapped and under the tree before Christmas morning.  Sending out Christmas cards became a project I simply had to drop.  Instead, I hoped to put together a New Year's card to send out in January.  And luckily, that's just what happened.

I was inspired by the thought of counting our blessings, since 2011 was a year full of wonderful moments and events for our family.  Craig and I sat down and chatted about the things that made up the majority of our year, then I set to work quantifying them.  In the end, we had events that, when the numbers were added together, summed up to 2011.  I made four little illustrations to give some color to our card.  And, saving the best for last, we also included a photo of the boys - because the photos are everyone's favorite part of receiving a holiday card.  

It was a fun little project that I hope our friends and family enjoyed.  And, of course, I want to send the same wishes out to all of you, dear friends: here's to countless blessings and a bright 2012!

PS - We turned that photo of the boys into magnets for grandparents and such.  They turned out so wonderfully, that I'm planning on making it an annual thing.

photos by me

A Whirlwind

Hello, again!  I'm so glad to be back here blogging today.  It's been a long time - yikes!  The past few months have been...well, let's call them time-consuming, shall we?  From November 19th, when baby Abram was born, until just now has been a whirlwind of feeding, rocking, shushing, feeding some more, sleepless nights, and days spent with a Baby Bjorn strapped to my torso.  We love this darling baby, but he has definitely been a high-maintenance kid.  

Luckily, things have started to brighten up; meaning, he's starting to sleep in his bassinet for longer periods.  So now, however briefly, I can sit down here and do a few things!  I have so many projects to share with you from the past couple of months, including the story of Abram's planned home-birth.  Tomorrow, I'll start with how we welcomed in the new year. 

What about you, my dears?  Has your bundle of joy ever been colicky?  How did you cope?  

photos taken on my iPhone

Meet Baby Abram

Things have been busy around our neck of the woods lately.  Saturday, November 19th was especially eventful.  At 12:51 in the afternoon the newest member of our family made his debut.  I'd like you to meet Abram Joseph.

He's the sweetest little bundle with the most delicious cheeks.  We can't get enough of him.  He was delivered at home so I have more stories to share, but I'll be saving that for another day (typing with one hand while a babe is in the other is tricky business).  I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving and have as much to be thankful for as me.

How to Be a Pirate

Halloween has always been a bit of a struggle in the costume department as far as decisions go.  There are just so many possibilities that Brady has never been able to decide on just one costume without a lot of convincing.  But this year there was one thing he definitely knew he wanted to be: a pirate. 

I really love making his costumes so we ended up doing a bit of creating and a bit of collecting.  Here's how we made it happen:

• Pirate Hat and Eye Patch: Borrowed from a friend


• Vest: Sewn from the Oliver + S book, Little Things to Sew


• Shirt: J. Crew, from his closet


• Pants: From his closet


• Sash: Cut from an old shirt


• Pirate Loot Bag: Sewn from this tutorial and stamped with a crossbones potato stamp


• Boots: Polarn O. Pyret


• Sword: Target

We also had a bit of fun making this amazingly fast and cute vampire pumpkin that I saw in Martha Stewart Living.  All you do is carve out the mouth area, wedge some vampire teeth into the hole, and add two red-headed pins for the eyes.  Easy and adorable.

For a few Halloween parties we had over the weekend, Brady also dressed up as the old man, Karl Fredrickson, from the movie Up, which was the greatest.  But he did that more for me than as his own idea.  I'll share pictures of that costume and how we put it together on Facebook later today.

How was your Halloween?  Did you or your children dress up?  What were your favorite costumes?

Back to School

Waking up at 6:30 this morning to make a special breakfast for the first day back to preschool was a pretty great way to start the day.  The house was quiet, the day full of potential.  And what better breakfast to have than a batch of homemade doughnuts with a side of blackberries?  I don't think any 4 year old could have wished for more (not to mention me because, of course, I had to help him eat them).  

As a back-to-school gift for his teacher we set aside some of the rainbow-sprinkled doughnut holes. Tossing them into a striped paper bag and adding a tag, we were good to go.  Oh, but not until after the obligatory picture on the front steps.

Seriously, friends: I have the cutest kid.  If it's back-to-school time at your house, too, I hope the year holds fabulous things for you.  And plenty of doughnuts.

Illustrated: Garden Pickings

I'd like to start sharing more of my illustrations with you here on the blog.  So, I'm starting up a new project: a weekly illustration to be shared with you on Fridays of something from my week.  This week was the first week that our garden really started to produce things.  After last year's "learning garden" it's so nice to be able to have a little harvest.  I'm really loving gardening; it's so rewarding.  There were a few peppers ready to be picked, a couple of fat cucumbers (not illustrated) and one lonely radish.  The radishes had a hard time in my garden for some reason...

Most everything we planted are things we're familiar with, so we'll be sure to eat it all.  But there are a few new varieties.  My dears, have you ever heard of a giant marconi pepper?  I don't believe I've ever had one before and I'm curious what to do with it.  Any suggestions?  

Have a lovely weekend!  I hope it's full of little, fun surprises.

What I'm Working on: The New Site

I have exciting news to share today: Lily Jane Stationery has a brand new website.  For some time I've been wanting to create a clean, beautiful site to house my shop.  I had to learn some coding but with a little bit of time, a whole lot of google and a trip to the library, it's all come together so nicely.  Hop on over and have a look.  While you're there, it's the perfect time to sign up for the mailing list yet, if you haven't already.  A new issue will be mailed out soon with sneak previews of fall products and an exclusive discount code.

BABY UPDATE: IT'S A...

Hello, my dears!  I hope you've had a lovely week.  I've been busy working on a web redesign that I'll be sharing with you next week.  I'm so excited to share it with you all.  But I also have one bit of other news before I run off for the weekend, regarding my little bean.  First, it's not quite a tiny bean anymore but is growing by leaps and bounds and a very accomplished (and strong!) kicker.  Second, it's a boy!

We're very excited to have another little boy running around our house.  Brady can't wait for him to hurry up and grow so they can play together.  He's already requested that I "make the baby bigger and take it out so we can play with it, just for a little bit."  We have a few names we're thinking about but haven't been able to agree on one just yet so I was wondering...do you have any suggestions for us?  What names for a baby boy do you love?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  See you back here on Monday.

What I'm Working On: New Business Cards

Recently, I set about designing business cards for myself.  I wanted them to represent everything that is Lily Jane: illustration, color, and slightly whimsical design.  The finished product turned out just as I was hoping and I'm happy to share them with you today.

I simplified the Lily Jane monogram, colored it white and set it against a patterned background of botanical illustrations.  The opposite side has a mustard yellow background, my logo and all of the contact information.  They're really lovely and I'm so happy to have them close at hand and ready to go.

DIY Gift: Homemade Ice Cream

Here's a simple and easy DIY idea for a summery gift everyone is bound to love: homemade ice cream in a jar.  All you need are some supplies that are probably already in your cupboard: a mason jar, a small square of fabric, some ribbon or twine, a tag, and a freshly mixed batch of your favorite ice cream.

Make the ice cream according to the directions and then pour the soft-serve-staged goodness into a clean, empty mason jar.  Put the jar in the freezer for 2-3 hours to allow the ice cream to ripen, or freeze completely.  When you're in need of a gift you can pull it out, place a square of fabric between the lid and the ring, and finish it off with the twine and a tag.  Or, you can always just grab a spoon and help yourself...

Here are some amazing ice cream recipes:

• Strawberry Ice Cream (as pictured above)


• Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream


• Mixed Berries Sorbet


• Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream


• Mango Ginger Frozen Yogurt

What are your favorite frozen treats to make for summer?  

 

What I'm Working On

Hello, my dears!  This week has been a busy one and I'm excited to share with you one of the things I've been working on.  I've introduced a new product to the shop: party kits!  They're full of everything you'll need to put a lovely party together - invitations, goodie bags, bunting, cupcake flags and thank you cards -all packaged together in a kraft box.

There are currently four themes: circus, water, shower and woodland.  I'm kind of in love with that little elephant up there.  

Which one is your favorite?  What theme would you like to see in the future?

Best Project Ever

Hello, my dears!  How are you doing today?  Is the sun shining where you are?  I've opened all the windows in our house and am enjoying the softly warmed breezes floating through the rooms.  After a long rainy season it's like learning the joy of just breathing all over again.

My loves, I have to apologize for leaving you for so long.  It's been a bit of a struggle for me to get everything done of late because I've been busy working on the best type of project.  Care to have a peek?

Yes, there's another little one on its way to our home!  Which means I've been spending alot of time the last few weeks doing absolutely nothing but growing this little bean.  It's worth every bit but definitely sucked me dry of all my energy.  Luckily, we've turned the corner into the second trimester and I'm feeling much more like myself again.  I'll keep you updated with little peeks as we go along.  The new baby is due to make its debut on December 3rd.

Are any of you out there December babies?  How did you feel about having a birthday in the midst of all the holiday merry-making?