It's been a while...

since my last post. It's been a busy week. There's been a tooth grown, some signs learned, knitting finished, and sickness gotten over. The girl now has 6 teeth. Three on top and three on bottom. But they are off center, the top three are the 2 middle teeth and one on the right, and the bottom ones are middles and left. It's cute. She also just started to do the sign for daddy. She also does the same sign when I ask her to say mama, so for the moment it may mean "parent". She just started doing it yesterday though, so I'll cut her some slack. The knitting that I finished (finally) is a pair of wool soaker pants that I started when I could still nurse and knit, before the kidlets got grabby. At least I planned ahead and made them really big. They fit now, but also have plenty of room to grow. And, this house now has no one sick living in it!
The weekend ahead is also jam-packed full of activity. We're planning on going to the zoo to watch the elephants jump over the fence, I mean, play with pumpkins. The animals are given pumpkins as a special halloween treat every year. I've never gone, but I've been wanting to. We also are picking up some baby gates, and I'm planning to finish some final touches on a few things for my website. I hope my to-do list is all crossed off by Sunday evening!!

6 lb baby

I haven't been doing a ton of sewing this week, but I did make this doll for a friend of mine. She sells baby carriers and wanted a weighted Waldorf style doll to use for demos and for her customers to use when trying out carriers. It's about the size of a 2-3 month old baby and weighed almost 6 pounds. It felt much heavier when being held though. I did a tiny bit of machine sewing on the body of the doll, but 95% of it was handsewn. Of course, I had to do the machine sewn part before I was able to do the handsewn part, so I couldn't just sit around making dolls the whole time that I've been healing. I really enjoyed making it, it was a great way to get back into sewing. It was fun to watch it's "personality" develop. She asked me to make another one for her, but this time it will be the approximate size of a 1 year old. I'm excited to see how that one turns out.

I moved my foot!!

It just moved a little, but there was movement! The therapist gave me lots of exercises to do at home, and I'll be going there 3x a week. For now, the exercises are mainly stretches to get me some range of motion back, but soon we'll start working on walking. I'll still have the boot and crutches for a while, but I'll be getting the muscles ready for walking without them. It felt really weird to move my foot after so long in the same position, and the bottom of my foot is super tickle-y from not being touched in so long.

Sleepy Saturday

I haven't had a day this quiet in a long while. Everyone is napping, it's totally silent except for the sound of the fan in my laptop and the occasional car going by. Both babies are asleep (at the same time!!), and my husband is feeling sick so he's napping on the couch. Even the dog is in her bed. I just hope the phone doesn't ring. I know it won't last, but it's so relaxing while I have it.

The Big Day

It's finally here, the big doctor appointment where I'll learn if I can start sewing again and what the next step (hee hee) is in regards to my treatment. I've been a bit terrified that I'll go in there and he'll say that there's been no progress and that I'll need surgery. I guess that's better than being convinced that he'll tell me to start running, dancing and jumping. Better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed and depressed. Updates later...



Well, no walking yet. But, the doc wants me to gradually put a little weight on it, within my comfort level, until I can walk a bit without the crutches. Still no carrying babies though. It will probably be the next appointment (in a month) until I can really walk without the boot or crutches and he stressed that no driving was allowed. I'm supposed to take the boot off sometimes when I'm just sitting around, and after a few weeks he wants me to try walking a little without the boot. I start physical therapy next Monday, and I have absolutely no idea how that is even feasible. I'm supposed to go 3x a week. How that's going to work with no driving and the babies is still to be determined. But, he said that if it doesn't hurt to sit with my leg unelevated, I CAN SEW!!! Now I just have to convince the babies to let me.

A great start to the weekend

My mom and I took the babies to the zoo for the first time yesterday. We had a great time. It's always nice for me to get out of the house, but it was especially nice to spend so much time with my mom, plus it was a beautiful day. The boy seemed to like the fish and turtles in the aquarium, and the girl loved the monkeys. They both napped well, and were happy in the stroller. I rented one of those electric wheely carts, and both kids liked riding in my lap as I zoomed around. There were lots of cobblestones though, and by the end of the day my ankle was a bit sore, but it was worth it to have such a great family outing. Next time my husband will come along. I think that next year we'll get a membership and go a bunch, the kids will be the perfect age.
Last night we went through the kid's toys and bagged up everything that was made in China that had paint on it. There isn't much left. They are young enough that it's not a big deal to take their things away, but I am so glad that they aren't older. I think we purged about 80% of their toys. We kept the HABA, some handmade things, cloth books, 2 Waldorf dolls, and a couple of Tupperware toys. I'm feeling so upset about all the lead paint reports and I don't really understand why it isn't more of a priority of the toy companies to insure the safety and quality of the items they sell. Especially when they are intended to be chewed on and played with by infants and children who mouth everything.
I've been looking for a baby doll for the kids, I haven't found one yet that I like and that I know is safe. I think I have a lot of research to do. Or some sewing :) I don't have a ban on Chinese-made toys, I just want to know that the company and manufacturer has the health and safety of my children in mind. Documented independent testing maybe?

A visit

My mom will be here tomorrrow!! She's coming to see the babies and help do the things that I can't do because of my ankle. I do normally have tons of help, friends come every day to baby wrangle and make sure that I'm eating, and do dishes and stuff. There's just some stuff that only a mom can do. Like hunt down and destroy every dust bunny in the house or fill the fridge with food for a week. I'm always so sad to see her go.
This evening the babies ate pears! They loved them and were grabbing the spoon to shove it in their mouth. We had four spoons, we'd fill one and give it to a baby while simultaneously taking the empty one away. It worked pretty well until the boy discovered what happens when you bang a spoon full of pear mush on the highchair tray. Hilarity and baths! It was a fun night. Their first food was sweet potatoes last week, and while the girl liked them, the boy made lemon face and quickly stopped opening his mouth for the spoon. They did enjoy smushing them around on the tray though. We'll stick with pears for a bit and then try something new next week.