Because, my babies. Ok. Here goes. Again.
Links I've found useful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pteEYX8zwWc
The best tips, on how not to sit. Basically, curve your lumbar! (curving the small of your back)
Posture stuff reiterated here.
http://spinningbabies.com/learn-more/techniques/posture/
http://spinningbabies.com/learn-more/baby-positions/breech/flip-a-breech/
These people are probably a little bit over the top (I don't think you can really control everything, because, babies are people. And people do things sometimes, just because. Hence, Isaiah wouldn't flip. But Kuzzles did.)
here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3hU3E0bnA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNu5xGaa2YA&spfreload=10
*********
and for after pregnancy, I've been planning to work out this time, to keep my tummy muscles from completely stretching out. But evidently crunches can cause prolapse :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29RJC2vK5dY
This instead?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMdCp8aeTcY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmvIcXRMN2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PeSP85IwFw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faEFcuEB6ZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_EAdZX6T9c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9HR0uEkfCI
I will check out her channel more later.
this one made me laugh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UByiwdr89-4
pelvic floor stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR7C-fQkkOY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOjo5tBWoZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IqrHYRQOas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXwZFX9R3PI
To be updated with more links and my plans.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Kuzzles the Big Kid
Kuzzles really is one of the big kids now.
She goes after their toys. She sleeps on the floor with the big kids.
(we provide a bed, really. They just like the floor) She is finally free of the tyranny of her crib jail.
She has successfully protested 2 hour naps, shaving them down to 45
minutes, when at all. She is working on protesting, and thus being liberated from her high
chair at dinner.
She also, (much to Jenny's distress) tries to climb into Jenny's frog potty chair. I think that one will be a while though.
When she's not indignantly stealing their toys (seriously, she is so full of righteous anger as she takes their things...to the point that I think I was punishing the wrong kid before I realized what was going on), she actually plays quite well with Jenny and Isaiah.
She loves chasing Isaiah around and around the room, laughing.
She is very supportive of Jenny's potty training achievements. Jenny gets chocolate chips whenever she goes, and the other kids all get a couple as well, as I say "yayy! Clap for Jenny." Now Kuzzles will start to clap as soon as she knows.
She loves baths, and tries to climb into the bathtub whenever she manages to get into the bathroom.
She's started to be self-aware. She puts on necklaces and bracelets (or packing-tape rolls) on her arms and then trots aroudn looking very self-conscious, waiting for compliments. Its so cute it hurts.
She loves shoes. Her little feet are oddly shaped, being very thick but short, meaning there is only a couple pairs that have the height/width for the length she needs. But she loves them so much, finding her little mary janes in the morning and bringing them to be yelling "maaaah!" which is her way of asking. Then she is content to wear them all day, if one falls off she locates it, "maaaah!" until it is put back on.
She was very excited to wear sunglasses. The first time I put them on her, she was very excited, understanding just how cool she was. She didn't want to take them off, even inside.
She's so cute, it hurts.
When she's not indignantly stealing their toys (seriously, she is so full of righteous anger as she takes their things...to the point that I think I was punishing the wrong kid before I realized what was going on), she actually plays quite well with Jenny and Isaiah.
She loves chasing Isaiah around and around the room, laughing.
She is very supportive of Jenny's potty training achievements. Jenny gets chocolate chips whenever she goes, and the other kids all get a couple as well, as I say "yayy! Clap for Jenny." Now Kuzzles will start to clap as soon as she knows.
She loves baths, and tries to climb into the bathtub whenever she manages to get into the bathroom.
She loves shoes. Her little feet are oddly shaped, being very thick but short, meaning there is only a couple pairs that have the height/width for the length she needs. But she loves them so much, finding her little mary janes in the morning and bringing them to be yelling "maaaah!" which is her way of asking. Then she is content to wear them all day, if one falls off she locates it, "maaaah!" until it is put back on.
She was very excited to wear sunglasses. The first time I put them on her, she was very excited, understanding just how cool she was. She didn't want to take them off, even inside.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Stenciling with Fabric Paint: Method 1: Freezer Paper Stenciling
I am reviewing the 5 main methods I have for embellishing fabric with stencils and fabric paint. I go through the pros and cons and what I have learned with trial and error for each one.
Method 1: Freezer Paper Stencil, Cut by hand with a Utility Knife
Materials required:
Use the sponges to apply the fabric paint, let it dry, peel off the paper.
When its dry, put a thin cloth over the design and iron it for a minute to set the paint.
I tried my hand at stenciling with Freezer Paper very successfully, I made decent Penguins Logos on the kids T shirts for Josh's father's day present.
But each stencil could only be used once since you
have to iron on freezer paper to the fabric.
I have gotten 3 uses out of a freezer paper stencil that was a much simpler design (A Simple Tree of Gondor), by carefully pulling it off and re-ironing it. But the design looked sloppier by the 3rd shirt---the stars were just sad.
Anyway, with something with the level of detail of the Penguins logo, 1 use was all I was going to get, and each logo took me at least 2 hours of cutting.
NOTE: I cut them on a soft wood cutting mat, which was a mistake (and made it take a lot longer). If I had cut it on a glass cutting mat (picture frame) it may have gone a lot faster.
PROS
Very High level of detail possible. You can cut very thin lines as the paper has very little thickness, the sponge reaches all the areas very well. You can even iron on separate pieces that don't have to be connected (like a traditional stencil) and they stay in place for the printing. Also, ironed on stencil holds very well to the fabric, making crisp fine lines possible.
Also, NO CLEANUP REQUIRED for the stencil. Which is a bigger deal than it sounds like. Also, with 150 square feet of the stuff for 6 bucks at Walmart, it is "very economical."
CONS
You really only can get 1 use out of it (unless the design is VERY simple, and you pull it off very carefully, then you might get 3, but it will degrade a bit). So it really is a one shot deal.
Conclusion: This is the go-to method for
anything with a high level of detail. It is also the go to method for
anything that you want to be unique, one of a kind, etc. You can buy freezer paper at walmart orders of magnitude cheaper than it is at craft
stores.
- Freezer Paper cut with a Utility Knife
- Stencil Blanks (Showoffs at Hobby Lobby) cut with a Utility Knife
- Stencil Blanks cut/burned with an Electric (Heat) Stencil Cutter or Woodburning Tool
- Overhead Projector sheets cut/burned with and Electric (Heat) Stencil Cutter or Woodburning Tool.
- Cheap Screen Printing ideas
Method 1: Freezer Paper Stencil, Cut by hand with a Utility Knife
Materials required:
- Freezer Paper
- Iron
- Utility Knife
- Glass Pane/Old Picture frame (SOO much better than self healing mat or wood or posterboard!)
- Fabric Paint (Either Tulip Soft fabric paint, or mix the appropriate color from those 2 oz. acrylic paints at Walmart or any craft store and mix with textile medium at a 2:1 ratio)
- Cosmetic Sponges for sponging on the paint (24 wedges for $1 from dollar tree, a lot cheaper than from a craft store)
Use the sponges to apply the fabric paint, let it dry, peel off the paper.
When its dry, put a thin cloth over the design and iron it for a minute to set the paint.
I tried my hand at stenciling with Freezer Paper very successfully, I made decent Penguins Logos on the kids T shirts for Josh's father's day present.
 |
| I am proudest of the hockey blades, and the gloves. |
I have gotten 3 uses out of a freezer paper stencil that was a much simpler design (A Simple Tree of Gondor), by carefully pulling it off and re-ironing it. But the design looked sloppier by the 3rd shirt---the stars were just sad.
Anyway, with something with the level of detail of the Penguins logo, 1 use was all I was going to get, and each logo took me at least 2 hours of cutting.
NOTE: I cut them on a soft wood cutting mat, which was a mistake (and made it take a lot longer). If I had cut it on a glass cutting mat (picture frame) it may have gone a lot faster.
PROS
Very High level of detail possible. You can cut very thin lines as the paper has very little thickness, the sponge reaches all the areas very well. You can even iron on separate pieces that don't have to be connected (like a traditional stencil) and they stay in place for the printing. Also, ironed on stencil holds very well to the fabric, making crisp fine lines possible.
Also, NO CLEANUP REQUIRED for the stencil. Which is a bigger deal than it sounds like. Also, with 150 square feet of the stuff for 6 bucks at Walmart, it is "very economical."
CONS
You really only can get 1 use out of it (unless the design is VERY simple, and you pull it off very carefully, then you might get 3, but it will degrade a bit). So it really is a one shot deal.
 |
| (We love you Penguins Franchise, Josh got an officially licensed Penguins T-shirt. We are just poor fans.) |
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
A Psalm for the Apocolypse
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Stencil Making Tips (for Stenciling Fabric Paint)
BIG STENCIL MAKING TIP
I love embellishing things. I love stenciling, because its gives a really big "bang" for the time invested.
Recently, I stenciled the embellishment on the girls' elven dresses, a process I outlined here.
However, my hand was cramping up at the end of all that cutting. But now I have a solution!
BIG TIP: Use an old pane of glass as a cutting mat!
I spent wayyy too long laboriously cutting out stencils and my hand hurt for 2 days. It was because I cut them on wood (or layers of poster-board) as the cutting mat. The point of my utility knife cut through the plastic stencil into the soft wood/poster-board, giving it a lot more "drag" as I pressed and pulled the knife.This is what wore my hand out.
I have heard "self healing cutting mats" also give a lot of drag to the knife (because they are a kind of rubbery texture) and do this too.
I went through utility knife blades quickly, 1 edge per stencil, because cutting through all that matter was dulling the blades. I also had to pull really hard, resulting in parts where I accidentally jerked and cut more than I intended.
GLASS AS A CUTTING MAT IS SO MUCH BETTER!!!(An old picture frame works great)
I researched cutting mats, but from what I read about the "self healing" ones, it just would be the same problem. Then I read about glass ones. So I went to the thrift store (they sell them at the dollar store too, but you can get bigger ones at the thrift store) and got a big glass picture frame (with a picture of giraffes btw) for $2. Cutting on it was like a dream. The utility knife just cut through the stencil plastic, and barely scratched the glass (it will scratch the glass, so don't pull a picture frame off the wall). There was very little "drag." And so much less pressure on my hand.
If I had done this before, I probably would never have bothered buying the electric stencil cutter....
My analysis and tips of the 5 main methods I have tried of stencil making. I will be doing a post on each one.
- Freezer Paper cut with a Utility Knife
- Stencil Blanks (Showoffs at Hobby Lobby) cut with a Utility Knife
- Stencil Blanks cut/burned with an Electric (Heat) Stencil Cutter or Woodburning Tool
- Overhead Projector sheets cut/burned with and Electric (Heat) Stencil Cutter or Woodburning Tool.
- Cheap Screen Printing ideas
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Kids Back East
Family Reunion, Ocean City 2015. Hadabojji wanted to take us all to the beach, but he went to heaven before we got to. So we went, 4 years later. He would always tell me to "enjoy" while handing me a treat, as he drove me back from the weekend to the trainstop back to college.
When we got to the rental house, there was this little decoration with blocks, written out "Enjoy" on it.
I felt like Hdabojji asked God to put that there for me.
Watching Jane Austen's "Emma." I think Elijah was hanging out to be companionable, while reading about WWII.
 | |
Keziah loved grinning. She laughed a lot on this vacation. She now joins in laughing when other people are.
Jenny being beautiful. She is the only kid that poses for me, when I ask.
 |
Isaiah was very intent in making up stories with the sand. I don't know what they were, alas.
He suddenly got really happy, and ran around playing with his (empty) beloved fruity snacks wrapper.
Isaiah loved jumping the waves.
Daddy took them out into the deep water, where they jumped waves on Daddy's shoulders. "SPLASH SPLASH" they would yell for joy.
Jenny found this bit of seaweed with bubbles on it. As she loves popping bubble wrap, this proved to give her great joy.
Kuzzles tickling Isaiah...
Jenny and Keziah got baptized. Jenny was very excited about it (she has been reminding me "Jenny needs to be baptized" ever since she witnessed some baptisms on the Easter Vigil at the local Catholic church---when she tried to run into the font herself)
She got very serious when she was actually baptized.
Keziah laughed with joy right after she was baptized, a lot sweeter than my post-baptism screaming when I was a baby. Isaiah said "Isaiah's turn!" after the girls were, and was a little disgruntled about not being baptized, I tried to explain to him he already was.
My brother entitled this picture "Feel the Force"
All the cousins, hanging out. We teased mom she should climb the banister to get a better angle of the shot. She considered it....
Some of my favorite people. My dad had that shirt from when I was a toddler. I was brainwashed.
A sweet moment, Keziah hanging out with her great uncle.
Then we headed back to Philly.
Isaiah was distraught when Josh was picking up a car that some friends lent to us. He kept saying he wanted Daddy. I took him outside to wait for Daddy. As I snapped pictures I asked him "Can you smile for Mommy?" "No, I want to cry" he said, very seriously.
Hanging out with relatives in "God's Country" as my twin calls it. (Lancaster County---or, the Sanity that is not UPenn during finals week)
Keziah wanted to feed some pretzel to her Great Grandmother.
Being read to by their great-Aunt, they enjoyed themselves very much.
Playing ball with their great-Aunt. Much fun was had by all. And then there was icecream.
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