Just some Journaling

I find myself measuring distances by what songs I'll have to sing to get there without Fynn crying.  He's always hated riding in the car, but we've discovered recently that he'll calm down if we're singing one of his favorite songs: those with funny noised.  We were able to add "The Wheels on the Bus" to our repitoir this last week.

So we drove one "wheels" and half an "old McDonald" to the store to get a gift for my friend's bachelorette party this weekend an to pick up some photos.  Then a "yodeler" to an assisted living facility to do some visiting.  Then  half a "yodeler," and a "Lilly the pink" to get to the post office, then just a quarter "McDonald" home. =)

Fairbanks is such a unique place.  We've not even been here 3 years and already I'm forgetting that.  It wasn't too cold this morning (only 5 above) but totally still.  That stillness caused a little bit of ice fog on the way into town.  When we were coming home at noon, we caught a couple rays of sunshine as we topped the tallest hill on our drive.  The sun just barely peaks above the horizon these days.  And then there's snow.  Lots of it, but it's dry unlike the Washington slush I grew up with.  The land is harsh, but the people are so friendly and warm.

The sun was just barely peaking above the horizon  to the south at about noon when we were coming home.  The light is just so beautiful as it reflects off the snow.  The colder the weather, the better the roads.  They're slicker than snot when it's close to freezing, but when it gets really cold the ice gets thick and tacky and provides much better traction.  Also, the snow fills in the potholes! =)  It's fun experiencing it with Fynn now too.  He seems to actually like the cold, but gets so grouchy if he's too hot.  Ah, my little Alaskan laddie!

I'm finding that Fynn's favorite toys right now are the free things: big wooden spoons, a plastic cup, an empty wipes package...the best!  He is sure trying to crawl!  It's so much fun to watch: he'll lift up his chest, then his rump, then sort of rock back and forth until he crashes.  Actually he's really trying to walk too.  I'll hold his hands as he stands in front of me an he'll take a couple steps forward, then throw his head back to look at me with his mouth wide open and grinning and his eyes all a sparkling like, "Wow! Did you see that!"  And he's frequently talking up a storm these days, too.  I long to know what he's trying to communicate!

Friday Fun Finds: Teething Jewelry

Little Fynn seems like he's been teething forever.  You can feel the little bumps, but no teeth.  Not that I'm in a rush, it just seems miserable for him sometimes.  And everything goes in the mouth, making any jewelry a bit of a challenge.  I found these a couple days ago (and added one belatedly to my Christmas wish list!): what a fun idea!  They're perfectly safe for baby to chew on and still look nice!  Dear Santa...

http://www.smartmomjewelry.com/

O, Christmas Tree

Josh got this past Saturday off, so we bundled up the baby, took off behind the house a ways and lopped off the top of a Black Spruce for our Christmas tree (we cut up the rest of it for firewood).  For those who have not experienced Alaska, these spruce are a unique sort of tree.  They are one of the very few that grow on the permafrost ground and sort of look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.  But the skinny tree fits better in our cabin and has more room for ornaments and presents! =)

Neither Fynn nor Clancey were too sure about the chainsaw, but really enjoyed the rest of the walk.  We got the tree thawed out and were able to decorate it after church yesterday while drinking peppermint cocoa (me) and spiced Russian wine (that would be my eclectic husband) and listening to Trans Siberia Orchestra.   Fynn was just in awe and so wanted to help with the ornaments!  I love seeing his wonder at this season and I can’t wait to teach him what it’s all really about!

 

Friday Fun Finds

Okay, so when Fynn is just mildly upset, his cry literally sounds like "boo, boo, boo" and his sticks his lower lip out...  How can I not grin as my heart melts yet again!

So I thought it might be fun to share something not my own once and again (honestly, these will probable be mostly from Pinterest).  Thus is from Marli Grace's blog and I can't get over how gorgeous this room is.  I love it!  You can find the rest of my dream home pictures here: 

https://pinterest.com/pure1_shamrock/home-ideas/

Great Big Christmas Stocking

Busy week!  Josh is still working six 12 hour shifts getting equipment ready to transport to Prudhoe Bay, so we've been missing him.  Monday I was getting stuff done around the house and fell down the stairs while holding Fynn.  He slid a couple more on his own.  Oh man, I can't get the nightmare of a scene out of my head and I can't describe how awful I feel.  Little boys should get bumps and bruises that they cause themselves and learn lessons from, not because their mommma dropped them!  I could see he bonked his head in three spots.  Oh, and I think I prayed harder than I ever had before.  And Fynn stopped crying and I knew God had protected him!   We got him checked out at Urgent Care just to be diligent, but by this time he was flirting and smiling with the nurses again.
Tuesday I had my CPR/AED re-cert, Wednesday I worked, power-cleaned the house, and had Bible study, and today I got that steroid injection in the inflamed tendon in my wrist.  Fun times!  But, Fynn slept 9 hours straight last night, so we're both feeling pretty good today. After I got home I started to make Fynn's stocking (pattern below).
I got Josh and his buddy some coffee on my way into town this morning and saw raspberry chai on the menu.  I just had to try it and it was amazing!  Totally gave me a better outlook on life!  Sometimes, even when life is so good for me in general, I see that this world is just not fit for life and I long for heaven.  So many sad happenings.  But a raspberry chai reminded me that God does still have good things in store for us here while we actively wait for Him.

Okay, so for the pattern, you're going to need to print out these 2 pages: (You can click on these thumbnails and they will open full size, or adjust as necessary before printing.  Then line up at the arrows)

Other supplies:

• 1/2 yard of back fabric
• 1/2 yard of front fabric
• Other fabric as desired (If you're using the same pattern as the back, you should have enough in the 1/2 yard
• 1 yard piping or ribbon
• Thread for machine
• May need embroidery floss and needle

You could do a bunch of variations of this ,but you will need at least one full cut out of the whole thing, two if you want both sides completely plain. (Make sure your fabrics are facing the right way!)  If not, then cut out one of each A, B, C, and D for the cuff, heel and toe.  Be sure to add just about a quarter inch where they connect for seam overlap.  You can choose your variations, just cuff, just heel/toe, etc.

I am by no means a seamstress, but I thought I'd try to figure this one out on my own as I couldn't find a stocking for Fynn that I liked.  I was making Fynns to be similar to these that Josh's folks got for us a couple years back:

Okay, once you have all the pieces cut out, completely assemble the front.  Sew the cuff, heel and toe onto the sock body.  Then fold the cuff back at the top and sew in place so that your top edge is the fold.  You don't have to worry about folding edges or anything if you do a zig zag stitch across the seam, the piping or ribbon will cover it.  Which brings us to you next step.  Since the piping I used was so bulky, I tacked it in place by hand every inch or using an invisible stitch with embroidery floss.  Front complete!

I had to double check that my back fabric was going to be facing the right way, then did the same top hem as on the front, making sure that the height was just a smidgen lower so it would be invisible when hung empty.  Then put the outside faces together and sew all but the to opening.  For this step I had to "jump" over every section of the piping because it kept making my sewing machine angry. =)  I then went back and sewed over these sections by hand also.

Before you turn it inside out, take a loop of your remaining piping and sew it into the back corner to hang on a hook on your mantle.  Flip it inside out and fill with lots of Christmas goodies!  I realized mine was a bit bunchey, but after I ironed it out, it was much better.

Scottish Shortbread

Fynn's had a bit of a bug for a couple of weeks and it's really settled in his lungs.  It had been sounding better, but then the wheezing and junky coughs came back, so I decided to call the advice nurse at his pediatrics.  She told me to bring him in immediately, and I got kinda nervous.  Turns out it's bronchiolitis, a viral infection, but not terribly serious.  The NP told me that I'm already doing everything I should be and  to just wait it out a couple more weeks.  My poor baby's going to have one amazing immune system at this rate!  I really am so grateful for his overall health, though!

Then I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon yesterday regarding my wrist.  It has been painful to me for months, but has been getting worse lately to the point where it always hurts to pick up Fynn.  Sometimes its so shocking it makes me lose all strength, and I'm so afraid I'm going to drop him.  The PA discovered I had what they call "Mommy's Thumb."  I guess it's pretty common for new moms, especially with big babies.  It's just an inflamed tendon, irritated by all the picking up motions that happen.  And Fynn likes to be held.  A lot!  So I'm trying a brace and an anti-inflammatory for a bit, but if that isn't working, then they'll give me a steroid injection. Fun times!  But it really is just so good to know what is happening so we can move ahead with making it better.

The rest of this week involved a little grocery shopping and packing up and shipping a couple items I sold on Etsy (yay!)  Other than that it was mostly just trying to keep the house clean.  For those of you that know me, that is a constant challenge.  My artist's heart is more concerned with so many other things than house work, and thankfully, it doesn't bother Josh to much that our home isn't immaculate (I saw his bachelor apartment before we were married.  He has no room to talk! =) But now that we're having Bible Study here every Wednesday, I try to have it semi-presentable.  We had a small but good group this week.  Josh has been working 12 hour shifts and was just wiped, so I played piano and led a couple songs instead of him.  One verse that stood out to me this week was First Timothy 6:6 "But godliness with contentment is great gain."  What a perfect combination, and I am trying to attain both.

Okay, so on a lighter note, I pulled out the short bread recipe for small group this week.   It's always been a favorite and went really good with our chai tea (see previous entry).  I was thinking after I had them in the oven that these might be fun to cut out with cookie cutters into Christmas-y shapes.  Hm, maybe next time.  Well, I decided I could at least make a Jenga stack with mine, this time. =)

Scottish Shortbread

Ingredients

• 2 cups butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add 3 to 3 3/4 cups flour. Mix well.

Sprinkle board with the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3x1 inch strips. Prick with fork and place on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Half a Year!

Hey all!  I'm filling in for Momma today because it's my first half birthday!  Momma keeps saying it's going by fast, but I have been learning and growing so much!  At my last check, I weighed 20 pounds and an ounce.  I can sit pretty good by myself, but sometimes I still tip over.

I haven't quite figured out how to crawl yet, but I sure am working hard at it!  And no teeth yet, either.  I really like to jump and roll over, bite my lower lip and fly like an airplane.  Oh and be upside down.

I make all kinds of fun noises and am very fluent in my own little language.  My favorite sounds to make are like a motorboat and clucking my tongue!  Momma and Poppa's favorite one is my laugh when they tickle me.

 Oh and I love to eat!  Last month I started having cereal with Momma and Poppa at dinnertime!  And for Thanksgiving, I got to try carrots from Momma's garden, blackberries from Grandma Walsh, and a little taste of ice cream and mashed potatoes!  Yesterday I found out that I love squash!

My three favorite things are when Poppa gets home from work at night, my puppy Clancey, and spending time outside.  I get pretty grumpy in Momma doesn't take me out at least once every day.

I discovered my feet recently, too!  Wow, what amazing built-in toys God gave me!  I can't even imagine what other purpose they may have in store!

  I don't like riding in the car, but I'm much better at it now, especially if Momma sings one of my favorite songs.  They're "Old McDonald," "The Yodeler," and "Lilly the Pink."  My days usually involve a couple naps, a lot of eating, some play time, feeding the animals, helping Momma cook dinner and a bedtime story or two.  And then there's the trips into town.  I love the music at church, but often get a little grumpy during the sermon if I don't have my bottle.  And I'm sitting by myself in the shopping cart now!

So, that's me in a nutshell.  I'll keep you posted on my progress!
~Fynn~