It seems rather weird to say that my son got the Measles — he’s on an alternative vaccine schedule, and I did miss his MMR because he was sick, but in this day and age you think it wouldn’t be common to say that he got them!

Fortunately they are rather easy to deal with, and close monitoring should make sure they don’t get “worse.” He’s still contagious, until about Thursday, but otherwise he’s happy, content and still the playful little munchkin we all love and adore!

It started with a high fever during the day on Tuesday, treated the fever with Tylenol for two days, then on Thursday Night/Friday Morning we visited the ER in Langley because he was moderately dehydrated and vomiting. After a couple hours and a few breastfeed’s later, he was perfectly normal and we went home. Then yesterday he looked like he had a bit of a rash on his face after I put on Sunscreen. Today, he had a full body rash.

Enter 8-1-1 Healthlink BC, and we got everything figured out. Now to keep him away from pregnant mom’s and any little babes who are under a year!

I’m going to be starting up a new Blog-series, about Creativity and the Process of being Creative {in respect to crafting}!

So, please stay tuned for more on this!

Waiting to jump into the still waters of the Creative Process

Ahhh, the sweet nighttime sounds – none of them mixed in with a touch of baby. We’ve been doing a regular routine with Shannen the past couple weeks and the progress is amazing! He’s going to bed regularly at 6.30, falling asleep by 7, and sleeping until 10-10.30! That’s an awesome chunk of sleep that helps me relax, unwind and have some baby-free grown up time with my hubby!

A little Zen time is needed!

A friend of mine has offered to let me borrow his D70 camera, {and if I like it then I’ll be purchasing it from him}, and I’m really excited! I hope we can stop by on Saturday on our way out to Richmond, so that I can play around with it while we’re at our friends’ place for a BBQ.

Another plus, I’ve finally inventoried and organized all of my work yarn/tools/projects! Go me! This is a huge step because now I can open a file, look at what I have and determine what I should be, or want to be, working on! Not only that but I’ll know where all my tools are so that I don’t have to go searching, wasting time and creative urges! I’m currently working on a new doll-pattern, which will be the base for which I’ll be selling my dolls on {I originally was using a modified pattern which is a big No-No!}, and I was thinking of selling the pattern for my Bronwyn Amigurumi! I might add some clothing patterns with that one, too!

Lots of ideas, lots of creative urges, it’s just trying to find the time to fit it all into my day!

It’s been crazy at our house the past three weeks. We’ve been doing kitchen reno’s. And by ‘we,’ I mean ‘my husband,’ the fabulous man that he is! The unfortunate bit is that my kitchen is a disaster – it’s hard to get in there to cook, clean or put away anything. My top cupboards have been ripped out and so all our dishware, Tupperware and pantry goods are in boxes at the back of the dining room.

Shannen isn’t pleased about the situation either. He is very intent on being in every space that Mommy and Daddy are in, and when we pop into the kitchen, he can’t get to us because we’ve gated the area! We solve this by putting him in his highchair if I’m cooking dinner, but he doesn’t like to stay there for very long anymore!

Shannen learned to climb stairs on Sunday and has been at it non-stop! He’s only fallen once, and I caught him pretty quickly, otherwise he motor’s along, screaming in pleasure the entire time! The poor cats no longer have a safe place to hide from him {except for the kitchen}.

So, while I’m really excited for the kitchen to be done, and to enjoy the new working space, I just can’t stand the in-between stages! And I’m so grateful to my husband who, in the past, has done construction jobs so quickly – it saves a lot of time and heartache. Because we are waiting for cabinetry and counter-tops, etc, there is only so much my hubby can do while we wait on others to pick up the slack – but hopefully we shall have the entire thing installed in the next week or so!

Shannen is almost one year old! He’s much more “talkative” and enjoys getting into everything Mommy doesn’t want him to. He can pull himself up but he hasn’t really tried to walk yet – I’m kind of glad for this!

Shannen practising his "Standing."

Our household has many new changes recently, the biggest change is that I’ve gone back to work. I only worked part-time to begin with, so it’s not too bad, and thankfully my dad is helping out by taking care of Shannen during the overlap between Brent and I.

In the world of Craft, I’ve finished a couple new projects!

Mug Cozies

Teapot Cozy

Matching teapot cozy and mug cozies for the Secret Grinch swap {yes, I know, it’s quite past Christmastime at this point!}

Baby Dragon

And this really cute Baby Dragon that I made was a huge hit! I absolutely love the pattern, and even though I had to purchase the pattern, when I showed it to Brent he was hooked, too!

Arg! No, I’m not trying to be a pirate, but rather that’s my frustration coming through! This cute little face won’t take a bottle!

So proud!

We’re trying sippy cups, but our old one was very leaky, so I purchased a new one – it’s a transitional from nipple, nubbin and then cup! I also purchased the water bottles that have a flexible straw and won’t leak – I’m hoping one of the three will work!

So far he just tries to dump the water out and then chews on the bottom of the cup! Anyone have advise on getting this little cutee-pie to take a bottle/sippy cup? We’re trying to get into the habit of getting Daddy to take care of him at night, but it’s frustrating and upsetting for all of us! @__@;;

I realised this afternoon that my darling little son will soon be 9 months old.

That’s 9 months that I’ve been a new mommy. That’s 18 months since we first found out we would be a family of 3. That’s too fast.

I feel neglectful and apprehensive. I’ve been neglecting the blog since Shannen’s birth and I’m very apprehensive about returning to work in less than 3 months! I want to be a stay at home Mom very badly. I always pictured I would be one. I almost regret taking the top-up at work, because now I owe them 6 months of work. And that makes me feel guilty for thinking it. I’m sure everything will be fine when I go back. A few rough bumps for Shannen and I but nothing we can’t handle.

Shannen's new Haircut

I’ll just really miss this face…

Yuki

We said goodbye to a dear friend recently, he was one of our beloved cats. He was only 6 years old. His favourite things were laps, fish, getting dirty and eating grass. It was a real blow to us when it happened. It wasn’t a slow affair, although the day felt long and heavy. It came suddenly, late morning and by 2 in the afternoon he was gone. It still feels really surreal. And I expect him to start complaining that he can see the bottom of his food bowl at any moment.

Yuki was taken from us by a freak chance. It wasn’t an accident, it was a body malfunction. He had an embolism. It’s not common for cat’s his age, in fact, it rarely happens in cats younger than 10. But it happened, and it cut off all his blood supply in his back legs and tail. He howled in pain and it was only a matter of minutes before we took him to the vet. It was too late anyway. You can’t stop an embolism, you can only prevent.

Yuki is sorely missed in our house.

Yuki, dyed pink with Kool-aid

Do I know what time it is? Yeah, I do. It’s the time of the night where I should be happily sleeping alongside my darling husband and son. Instead, I’m wide awake with a throbbing headache, restless legs and a brain that won’t stop thinking.

I’m making lists, recounting the days events, trying to figure out what to do for dinner and Brent’s lunch, all the while it’s 1am and I know I should be sleeping because I have to be up for a 9.30 Strollersize at the mall. And I have to put on dinner in the crockpot before I leave the house {plus have a shower, do my hair and make-up, get the munchkin ready and still eat something}.

But I can’t stop my brain from working. It works overtime at hours such as these. This is the Witching Hour in which {ha!} I get my best ideas, inspirations and stories. I’ve already decided that I’ll write two children’s stories, alter two maternity dresses and a sweater I bought, sew a quilt for Shannen to play on and some new pillows for the couches.

Could I manage anything else in this restless head of mine? Probably. Will I ever get sleep? Maybe. How do you help yourself settle when you’ve got too much on your mind?

The last couple days I’ve had very little sleep and I feel like I’m running on fumes! Shannen has been waking up every 2-3 hours, and I can count on one hand how many nights I’ve gotten 4 or more hours of sleep. I feel really bad, but I think it’s because he’s teething and because he uses breastfeeding to comfort himself. This, of course, is not healthy for me, as this little amount of sleep has caused my brain to stop functioning at even its lowest potential. I wish there was an option to help get him in a better routine at night, without breastfeeding to fall asleep and get him to sleep longer through the night.

Of course as a practicing AP mom, I refuse to leave him alone to cry it out, and there seems to be little other options; and I’m concerned for when I got back to work in 3 months! I guess we will have to just keep plugging at it until he gets down a bedtime routine that works with both Mom and Dad!

SO, other than the frustrating lack of sleep over the past 7.5 MONTHS, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in crafting projects and house projects. My current house projects are making a couple quilts and arm-rest hangers for the couch, as well as painting a mural on our pillar wall.

My newest addition to the website, though, is a full original pattern that I plan to make more Amigurumi dolls from. I had been planning on making a doll pattern, but nothing had inspired me until I needed to make a present for a good friend! The pattern is rightfully called “Halfling,”and depending on interestI may make it available. There are still some kinks to work out, because there are some parts of the doll that I don’t really like and would want to change.

Halfling Pattern