Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
NILMDTS is an organization of volunteer photographers who offer their services for families whose infants die before, at, or near birth. Their goal is to help preserve what precious moments these families have with their little ones. (here is their photo gallery)

Following one of my posts about miscarriage, someone left me this link. I looked at the site but didn't have time to really look through it. Recently I was reminded of it, and now want to share it here.

From their website:

This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives.

I think this is just such a heartwarming program. They accept donations of course (doesn't everybody?!) But more than that, I just want to get their message out--to let people know that they exist. We took a couple of photos of our precious little Thomas and I treasure them. I am sure every mother of an angel feels the same way.
(I've said it before, but I have so many more readers now that I'll say it again: if you wanted to see Thomas' photos, just leave me a note and I will email them to you.)

My New Velcro Roll Arrived

Six-Word Movie Reviews

Have you heard that thing about the six-word biography? I can't think of any off the top of my head, but it's all the rage at the moment...summing up something (or someone) in six words. Well, that's the goal for this round of movie reviews: a six word review, and then a one word summary.

Enchanted
family-friendly, catchy music, mocks cliches
buyable

Martian Child
Adopting is hard, love conquers all
heartfelt
(poor reviews, but it hit home--reminded me more than a little of my early days with Wolf...)

Juno
pregnant teens are crude, funny, wise
genuine
(pregnancy from a naive teen's perspective...crude in places, but often funny, and heartwarming)

Elizabeth
deserved every academy award it got
extravagant

Sweeny Todd
Glad I watched, but won't repeat
macabre
(yes, it's a musical...a Stephen Sondheim musical. This ain't no Rogers & Hammerstein, ok?!)


Ahhh, I almost made it. I just HAD to add comments to a couple of them. Well hey, that was fun, now we know I shouldn't try that again!
We're going to see Prince Caspian this summer....ooo I can't wait!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

Aren't they just so cute?

Saving the world by re-using paper bags and brown packing paper...
and saving my customers some money by not having to charge for packaging!

Wordless Wednesday

See that new picture at the top there?
[now shown as the top banner in this post]
That's the view out my bedroom window.
Seriously.

Oh Really?

Tonight I was washing dishes, and Hubby was setting the table for dinner. He reached to grab two clean (but wet) plates from the drying rack...
Me: There are dry ones in the cupboard, why don't you use them?
Hubby: These aren't that wet
Me: Yes, but you see if you take those then it will take me longer to fill up the rack.
Hubby: Oh I see, so when it's full you stop washing?
Me: Yup. I figure I'll never get totally caught up, so I just fill the rack a couple times a day.
Hubby: When I do dishes I dry them and then fill the rack again [in fairness, I do fit a lot more in the rack than he does]. I do that until the sink is empty...and when the sink is empty I am less likely to leave stuff in it--I'll wash it right away to keep the sink clean.
Me: I don't have the energy to keep up with that, so I just fill the rack.
Hubby: It's true, I don't do the dishes that often...
Me: Yup
Hubby: ...unless I'm really mad at you, then I take it out on the dishes. I can get the kitchen really clean..... [trails off as he realizes what he said]
Me: Really? What can I do to anger you tonight dear?!

To be fair, I have been known to take out my frustrations by cleaning too.

And, well, if you visit our cluttered little house, you'll realize that we don't get mad at each other very often. We're too busy laughing at ourselves and having deep conversations like this one.

Frugal Friday--Clothing

Alrighty, so as part of my series on saving the world, I've decided to do a post (there will be more in the future) on ways to stretch a dollar, then turn it sideways and make it stretch some more.
I should add the official caveat that I am still an apprentice at this--my mother is the genius. (Why would that be surprising--she is a genius about most things!)

Frugality is not just about getting by when you're poor, it's about wise use of the money that you have--however much that may be. I believe that buying the costlier (but higher quality) item can be the frugal choice. It's not about saving two pennies now, so much as it is about saving in the long run. This is why I will never ever EVER recommend The Evil Empire (Walmart) as a frugal option. (*gag**choke**Ihatethem*) I will have to do a saving-the-world post about boycotting TEE sometime, but not today.

Anyway, todays tips are about clothing:

Ask the kids how they feel about having holes in the knees of their jeans, or having patches...I never would wear something patched, but I rarely made holes either. If I did make a hole, we didn't patch the pants, we cut them off into shorts or capris. Wolf, on the other hand, puts holes in the knees of everything. I buy reinforced knee pants from Sears, and when they eventually wear through I patch them with scraps of denim from old jeans that were beyond repair. I don't use the expensive iron on patches because they are thin and ironing alone doesn't hold up for very long--I use real denim and zig-zag it on all over the hold and then around the edges of the patch. Sometimes I take scraps of bright, fun fabrics and sew them over the patch on the outside, so that the heavy patching stitches don't show, just the fun funky 'designer' 'patch' from the outside. (When I was in high school and college I used to hand-sew my jeans with embroidery floss in bright colors--I sewed a flower on one back pocket and then made brightly colored accents on various places in the pants, as well as actually sewing shut holes. I loved them, hippie that I am!)
When the patched pants wear though again (and they always do with Wolf!) then I sometimes patch a second time, but usually just cut them off into shorts. If the pants are too far gone to be shorts, then I cut out all the seams/zippers and use the large pieces for denim quilts, and the small ones for patching other pants.

The same basic principles apply to other types of clothing. Buy good stuff, then as it wears out, consider patching, cutting it off (long sleeves with worn cuffs can be cut to 3/4 sleeves or short sleeves), or putting it to a new use. There are cute patterns for making a button-up dress shirt into a little girl's sundress for example. Tee-shirts can make fun logo-filled quilts. Old tees, sweats, or towels can be cut up to make great rags (I use old tee-shirts to make cloth kleenex--it's nice and soft on a sore nose, and I just wash them with the linens or diapers). Smallish pieces of fabric also are fun for beanbags, dress-up clothing, doll clothing, or doll quilts.

Here is a tip on making easy quilts from scraps: pick a height, such as 7". Cut pieces all of the same height, and of whatever width will fit on the piece you have. Sew them all together in rows--the heights will match (giving nice rows) but the the widths will be different (so no columns). Another option is to alternate tall rows (9") with short rows (5")--that's what I'm doing on my current quilt. It's a great way to use both large and small scraps in the same quilt!

Short version: buy quality stuff, patch it when you can, cut it off if it's past patching, and use 'dead' items to make rags, quilts, toys, and patches.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oh, by the way, I think it's about time for feel-yourself-up Friday too. Go ahead ladies, do that breast self exam. You know you should.

Wee Ones stitch markers

Wee Ones offers unique and adorable stitch markers. Being handmade, each one is slightly unique, and the creator takes custom orders! After looking through her selection of cute little doggies and wildlife, my husband decided to order a custom set for me. (The dog looks just like our pet dog, and the others are because Dragon, Wolf, and Bear are nicknames for family members). The pictures don't do justice to how small and intricate these are--each one can sit easily on a dime--probably two could sit on a dime together. They are tiny! Truly WEE ones!

The Essence of Who We Are as Women

"The First Presidency six decades ago called motherhood “the highest, holiest service … assumed by mankind.” Have you ever wondered why prophets have taught the doctrine of motherhood—and it is doctrine—again and again? I have. I have thought long and hard about the work of women of God. And I have wrestled with what the doctrine of motherhood means for all of us...
"Satan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail. When we understand the magnitude of motherhood, it becomes clear why prophets have been so protective of woman’s most sacred role.
"While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord’s language, the word mother has layers of meaning. Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve “the mother of all living”—and they did so before she ever bore a child. Like Eve, our motherhood began before we were born. Just as worthy men were foreordained to hold the priesthood in mortality, righteous women were endowed premortally with the privilege of motherhood. Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us...
"Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. declared, motherhood is “as divinely called, as eternally important in its place as the Priesthood itself.”

Shari L Dew
2001
"Are We Not All Mothers"

Turning into My Mother

I have realized that I am turning into my mother.

My thin, curly hair stands up all over the place--since I started using the henna it's even red like hers. I have blue eyes and stretch marks and smile lines. My breasts are big, my hands are small, and I have insanely high arches in my feet.
I have had more pregnancies than I have children to show for them. I have nearly died in miscarrying.
I sew. I knit. I quilt. I garden. I can. I cook. I write. I design. I create. I teach.
I always have a kid on my hip and I feel like I never quite catch up with the dishes or the housework. I like to cook, but I am utterly burned out on deciding what to make for dinner. My favorite meal is one that someone else cooks for me. I am tired of washing diapers.
I do not accept the status quo--I am the change I want to see in the world. I do not take anyone's advice as fact, no matter what degrees they have; but I read and research and learn all I can and form my own, educated, opinions. I do not hesitate to tell others what I learn.
I respect the Earth. I respect people. I wish we would all learn to get along a little better.
I am a woman of faith. I pray for my children. I support my husband and his dreams--both the realistic and the not-so-realistic. I can stretch a dime further than some people can stretch a dollar. I have little in worldly wealth, but much in heavenly treasure.

I have realized that I am turning into my mother.

Hallelujah!