Home Spun Delights

A few months ago, we bought Natalie her first "big girl" bed. After much hunting for sheets, we found a cute set, but the matching quilt was not in stock. I'd been looking for a quilt for awhile, a comforter is way too hot for Florida. My favorite ones are at Pottery Barn Kids and thus way too expensive to justify. So in the meantime, I put a quilt-like blanket my mom crocheted for me years ago on Natalie's bed. And not only do I love it, so does she! She refuses to even use a sheet now, only wants the blanket, even though its 90+ degrees here and super humid. No more hunting for quilts necessary, the blanket goes with her room and I think a huge riot would ensue if I attempted to remove it.

Here is a photo of the blanket. Isn't it adorable? We like to set in bed before naptimes and look at the various squares, finding all the green ones, or ones with flowers or polka dots. So I'm sure my retired teacher mom will appreciate that not only does she love it for comfort, it's educational too! I absolutely love this blanket, and am so glad Natalie does too. It is now hers and I hope that one day she gets to pass it on to her daughter.



It's funny, I'm not sure how old I was when my mom was making it, but I do remember the various squares lying all around our family room for awhile. I wonder if that drove my dad crazy? My mom was always very crafty. She made us a set of matching mother/daughter outfits, which I loved. She did a lot of sewing, outfits for me when I was young, halloween costumes, dancing recital tailoring, and our house also had much of her needlepoint up on the walls. I definitely get my crafty/design aesthetic from my mother.

I just love homemade gifts. My mom has made another blanket for the new baby when she arrives, and I can't wait to see it. We also have a beautiful blanket that my Aunt knitted for her, that I'm looking forward to using with the new baby. In addition, I also have the most amazing quilt that my friend Sherry made for Natalie when she was born. I've just found a curtain rod to hang it up on her wall so will post pictures of that soon. That one has a special place in my heart as Sherry put in a few Irish touches, and that is where Dean and I got engaged, when we went out for Sherry's wedding. So Ireland will always be near and dear to my heart.

I'm lucky to be surrounded by such talent. I'm reasonably crafty myself, but have yet to embark on knitting or quilting. I think I could one day get into sewing, as I've always enjoyed it, just don't seem to find the time. I expect it won't happen anytime soon with a newborn arrival pending, but perhaps 2009 will be the year this Dixon Chick gets crafty. Stay tuned!

Where the Hell is Matt?

Another blogger turned me on to Matt last year. He has a new video out and I just love it. It's so simple, yet brings tears of joy to my eyes just watching it. Not sure if it's the pregnancy hormones or what, but I find this very inspiring. I love to travel and since having Natalie, aside from family trips have not had time/money/opportunity to do as much of it as I'd like. I strongly believe traveling is the best education and gift one can provide. It inspires and challenges in a way that you simply cannot replicate in a book, movie or tv show. I fully intend to instill a love of travel into my kids. Sure, it's going to be a lot more expensive traveling with four people than two, but the alternative, not introducing my kids to the world, and letting them discover firsthand that there are many ways to live life, simply isn't acceptable.

So enjoy the video, hopefully it will bring you a smile and remind you why you love to travel as well. With a newborn coming in a matter of weeks, our next travel plans are back to CA to introduce her to my family. But hopefully, in the not too distant future, we'll be on the road again. Where is your next trip going to be?

First Day of Preschool

I cannot believe it's already here. Dean and I dropped Natalie off at Montessori preschool this morning. She was so excited. With her brand new Hello Kitty lunch box in hand, wearing an outfit she picked out her own, and walking right past us out to the back towards the slides, I was struck by the fact that our baby is really no longer a baby. She's a little girl. Officially a pre-schooler. No tears for her, just excitement! My own eyes were filling as we left and I couldn't believe we've started the journey of school-dom. Yes, I know it's just preschool, but wow, where did the time go?

Of course I had to call to check on her and she was doing great. Since she's recently potty trained, I was worried she might have an accident. But the report was she'd already been to the potty once and told the teacher "Mommy says I have to wipe front to back. And I do whatever Mommy says." Who knew I had such authority! I'm just bursting with pride at how cute she is and that things we are attempting to teach her are actually sinking in.

Here she is with her new lunch box and checking out the slides as we were walking in.





We celebrated when we got home by having her favorite treat, ice cream. She loved it all and did not want to leave when I picked her up. I'm so happy. Now, the question is, what am I going to do with myself for the next eight weeks while I actually have 2 mornings a week free. I'd better get busy really. Because soon we'll be back in the throws of newborn chaos and I know these quiet moments will seem a lifetime ago.