At this time I wish I was the stay at home parent....

Joseph: annie is doing yoga she is panting like a dog like the woman on tv Sent at 10:21 AM on Thursday me: what are you watching??? Joseph: she changed the chanel to some crazy show and started impersonating the asian woman in front of the ocean me: um, video??? Joseph: sorry, it kind of freaked me out me: what was the asian woman? the yogi? Joseph: don't know, she was all painted and panting...it was surreal me: and annie was panting? Joseph: YES me: hahaha. Joseph: i know

First Love, First Quilt...

One day, about two years ago, my husband and I were walking around the West Village headed to my favorite yarn store, Purl. We passed the then-brand-new Purl patchwork, and I dragged my husband in. Pregnant at the time with Annie, I instantly decided I would make her a quilt. I already owned Kaffe Fassett's Caravan of Quilts, and wanted to make one of the more complicated quilts in that book. The lovely woman staffing the shop talked me down off that ledge and convinced me to pick something much more manageable for my first project. I spent an hour salivating over all the gorgeous prints, and plucked various gems off the shelf. After spending way too much money, I walked out with a stack of fabric and a new love of fabric. For the next few weeks, I slaved over my mother's Singer sewing machine. I had never made a quilt before, yet I was convinced that it couldn't be too difficult. I worked and worked, and this was the result!

Annie's Birthday Party... take one

Annie turned one on June 28, 2008. Knowing that we would be moving shortly after her birthday, we decided to have two parties-- one in Shreveport, and one in New Jersey. We went with a red, light blue, and navy color scheme and a nautical feel.

I designed the invitations and had them printed by vistaprint:


For decorations in Louisiana, I made a flag bunting with annie's name on it and scattered a few GIANT red and white balloons throughout our living room. I also covered a set of party hats in the same fabric I used for the bunting.




We used red, white, and blue partyware:


For party favors, we gave away Koozies matching the invitations:


I made Annie a white cake with cream cheese frosting. The middle layer was filled with strawberries and blueberries, and I used berries to decorate the top as well. I am no baker, and to be honest, this cake was a minor disaster. The layers fell apart, and I needed to use about two cups of icing to spackle it all together!

Review: Avent Replacements

Our 10-month old daughter has used Avent bottles since her birth, but over that time we have become increasingly concerned over the presence of BPA in these bottles. Last month, we finally decided to cut the Avent cord, and started to look seriously for alternatives. One of our primary concerns was that she had become used to the Avent nipples. In addition, we liked the multiple flow rates offered by Avent and we already owned a huge stock of nipples. Another concern of ours was cost. Many of the bpa-free bottles are really expensive- $10 a pop, at least. We were worried about making such a substantial investment and then having our daughter reject the bottle because she didn't like the nipple. We had read reports that the Gerber GentleFlow was compatible with the Avent nipple, so we decided to try those. In addition, the Avent magic cups are BPA-free, and are compatible with the Avent rings and nipples as well.

Here are our thoughts:

Gerber GentleFlow:

Cost: $2.99 for one at Walgreens (As an aside, I have seen these being sold for much more, as much as $10/bottle. That is absurd. Every Walgreens we've been in has had these in stock for $2.99)

Pros: Avent nipples and rings fit perfectly; good shape; markings in both ounces and milliliters; cheap!!!

Cons: These seems to make our daughter more gassy then the Avents, I think they may not be venting as well; they only come in 9-ounce size, which will be huge for a newborn; can be hard to find if you don't have a Walgreens

Avent Magic Cup:

Cost: $7.99 for two 9-ounce at Target

Pros: Come in a few different sizes; cheaper than many of the other bpa-free bottles, converts to cup

Cons: Made by Avent, who refuses to recognize the BPA-issue; really vague ounce markings, no milliliter markings; odd shape

The main problem we had with these was leakage. We first tried just replacing the spout with the Avent nipples and using the MagicCup ring. This was a disaster, formula everywhere. Now, we use both the Avent bottle ring and nipple, and we've has less leakage issues. However, like the Gerbers these make her more gassy then the Avent bottles, so again, I don't think they are venting as well.

In the end, we bought a bunch of the GentleFlows and a few of the MagicCups. We're due in August again, and I'm not sure if either option will work for a newborn because of the Gas issue. We may have to try to Avent bottles that use liners for a few months

Catching Up . . . Quilt #1

I made this quilt while I was pregnant with Annie, and it is the first quilt that I ever made. I think I finished it in February of 2007.

I bought all of the fabric at purl patchwork in NYC. When I was in law school I often frequented the sister yarn store, but at that time the patchwork store was not yet open. During a trip to the city, Joe and I wandered by and I was totally and completely in love. I made him come inside with me, where I proceeded to spend $100 on fabric with the intention of making a quilt for the baby. Due to his unwavering confidence in me, or perhaps simply a fear of my hormones, Joe didn't even bat an eye as he pulled out the debit card. He did make me promise that I would actually make a quilt.

I had previously bought Kaffe Fassett's Glorious Patchwork and was intent on making one of the quilts in that book. I had originally thought of making this one, but luckily the very kind lady talked me out of that endeavor. Something about my lack of experience. Instead, I chose the Pieced Stripes Quilt. This was a great choice for a first quilt. There was no accurate piecing or cutting requires. Instead, I cut all of the fabric into 4" wide strips, then randomly cut them into shorter pieces using 60 degree angles.

Here is a picture of the quilt in the book, courtesy of http://redisforpassion-red.blogspot.com/2007/12/quilt-inspiration.html

Here are pictures of my quilt:

Um, sorry about the baby that is in the way! I will try to put up better pictures of this quilt later. I wish I had kept track of what fabrics I used in the quilt. I pulled out all sorts of fabrics at purl, and I know there were some Amy Butler, Katie Jump Rope, and Alexander Henry fabrics, but I didn't note the patterns. Oh well.

Catch Up. . . Annie's Bedding

These first few posts will be dedicated to past projects, in an effort to try and bring the blog somewhat up to date.

First up, Annie's nursery bedding. I should start by explaning what a crazy pregnant person I was. Crazy actually doesn't even begin to describe me. I was obsessed with being completely and utterly prepared, and for me this included making custom bedding for the baby to come. I was due in late June, and started working on all of this in, um .... May? Didn't leave myself much time, which will explain why I was frantically sewing during the two weeks prior to her birth and during any "spare" time afterwards.

I chose an Alexander Henry apple and pear print in pink and green. To coordinate with this, I bought many, many fabrics, but I ended up using primarily solid pink, solid green, a green polka dot from American Jane Building Blocks, a pink swiss dot, and a mottled pink dotty print. I still have plenty of fabric left over and definitely bought fabric I never used. Making your own bedding is not a time or money saver.

I made a bumper, crib skirt, two throw pillows, and a quilt. I didn't really use a pattern for any of the pieces, but just kind of winged it. A pattern did come with the bumper inserts, which was kind of useful. We ended up not using the bumpers at all and they were a huge pain to make. Because of this, I would never make them again. Consider yourself forewarned if you attempt to make bumpers.

The completed nursery was featured on Apartment Therapy's nursery site, http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/bedding-blankets/followup-kristens-homemade-nursery-bedding-034190.

Here are some pictures: