Archive for the ‘do it’ Category

Here are the stacks of fabric on my kitchen table right now.  Since I don’t have a sewing or craft space, that’s were the stacks wind up… next to my sewing machine.  We eat on the bar stools at the counter when I’m sewing.

The stack above is for skirts for the girls.  I love the fabrics, so girly and sweet.  And speaking of girly, I’m thinking I’ll make them into the Girly Skirt from Pink Fig… since I already have the pattern and it’s cute and easy.  I have a few fun ideas for embellishing the skirts that I’m toying with.

And a runner for my kitchen table for Valentines Day.  I am trying to dream up a pattern and it’s still on the drawing board.

There’s no picture, but I’m also working on a Valentine’s Flags Banner… hopefully to show on Friday.   Which I can’t wait to finish… so fun.

And last but not least.  I’m collecting fabrics for a new quilt for my son’s bed.  Have you ever read the book, “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie”?  Well, a new quilt for Ben is the “glass of milk.”

My son has been bugging us to paint his room for several years now.  It has been a nice (very tame) tan… albeit a bit dark.  And Ben really hated it the dark color.  “My room looks like dirt color mom, can’t we paint it a fun color?”  “Lily and Emma have a nice color room.”  “My room is so dark it makes me feel sad.”

Finally after the room makes me sad statement, my husband says, “Maybe we should paint his room.”  Knock yourself out honey.  So Ben chose green and Drew happily painted it for him.  And they are both thrilled with Ben’s very green, very bright room.  Me, I’m still a little shocked by it’s brightness.

And now his quilt doesn’t match.  And then to issue the final blow to Ben’s quilt, which I love, it was chewed on by our very smart mouse friend that visited our home.  I could have killed the mouse for that… (luckily for the mouse, it was caught alive and released into a field a ways from our home.  But the moral is: if you give a boy a painted bedroom, he’s going to ask you for a new quilt.

I’ve been deciding what to make for him: A Bull’s Eye?  or A Chinese Coin? or something I haven’t thought of yet.

I love dreaming about what can be.

There’s a little cold going around our family.  It’s nothing major, it just leaves you feeling a bit mucky.  The worst part is the congestion and sinus headache.

Several years back, my son had a sinus infection.  I finally took him to the pediatrician, and he prescribed antibiotics.  After five days on the antibiotics, he wasn’t improving at all.  I called the doctor again and he suggested switching to a stronger antibiotic.  Sinus infections can be hard to treat he said.

That same day, I spoke with my mother-in-law, Kit.  She suggested trying a Neti Pot for Ben.  I was skeptical.  I didn’t think a 6 year old could do it… or that it would help even if he could.

But we picked one up at the Natural Foods Market and gave it a try.

It was a little tricky to use it on a young child, but Ben was a trooper and with my help we made it work.

And much to my surprise, after the first time using it, Ben said his head felt a little better.

We used it 3 times that first day and each time it brought him more relief from the headache and congestion.  After 3 days, his sinus infection was gone.  Ben did complete the antibiotics we had already started,  but I’m sure it was the Neti pot that really helped him get better.

For those who aren’t familiar with a Neti Pot, I hope I don’t gross you out too much.  It is a little pot designed to flush your sinuses with a saline solution.  It clears out the muck and helps moisturize the nasal passages.  To use a Neti pot, you mix ¼ teaspoon of finely ground non-iodized salt in one cup of warm water until dissolved.  We use Sea Salt.  You lean over a sink and pour the solution into one nostril.  The saline solution moves through the sinuses and comes out the other side.  It feels funny, but not painful in any way.  You repeat the process going the other direction.  It pretty much clears out the stuffiness and allergens.  When done, I put the pot in the dishwasher to clean and sanitize.

Since buying our pot, we use it any time someone has a cold or congestion.  I love using it in the Spring for my allergies.

The Neti pot is a little life saver at our house.  It never fails to help us feel better.  It just goes to show, sometimes the oldest and simplest solutions are best.