some hammering...

well, the days continue to be a bit of a struggle over here.

but we carry on :)

and we do some hammering...

start with these supplies:

• block of floral foam
• enough fabric to cover the foam (try to use something with a little give, not too tightly woven)
• glue gun
• some nails 
• toy tools (or real ones... whatever you're most comfortable with ;)  )

wrap the floral foam with the fabric, just like you would a present.  use some hot glue in spots to keep it on.  the fabric i used was just a little too tightly woven, which later led me to give some help with the nails getting started.

poke some nails through...

and get hammering!  

 

or use your fingers...

 

some magnets from another project crept in at some point...

 it's a great activity for...

• fine motor skills (hammering, using fingers...)
• tactile exposure (exploring the hardness of the nails, the squishy-ness of the foam...)
• mathematics (counting the nails, talking about the various sizes...)

and, of course...

• relieving frustration ;)

happy hammering!

everyday labyrinth...

i had a tough day yesterday.

a really tough day.

and then i had a dream last night.  i dreamed that someone told me what direction to go in in a huge forest.  if i got to a big, green lake, i went the wrong way.  i walked and walked, through trees and fields, and eventually, there it was.  a big green lake.  i went the wrong way.  but when i looked out over that big overlook...  there was an absolutely breathtaking lake.  emerald green... waterfalls... moss...  absolutely gorgeous.

it reminded me of a labyrinth i walked several years ago.

at the time, i was going through one of the hardest times of my life.  i was trying to get pregnant.  and it wasn't working.  we had many obstacles.  we had many sad days.  many.  sad.  days.   it felt like it would never end.  to this day, just thinking of that time brings tears to my eyes.

we went away to a bed and breakfast for a weekend.  outside, there was a labrynth.  i've walked them before, but this time was different.  never before had it taken on the meaning like it did that day. 

you typically ask a question, or make an intention, before walking in.  i asked "when will i get pregnant?" and i took my first step in.  as i followed the path, i immediately started straight towards the center... the "destination"... where i would come to an answer.  and just as it seemed i was getting there, the path made a sharp turn.  completely away from that center.  twists and turns followed.  bringing me further and further away from that center. 

and i started to understand something.  something new.  i was learning. 

this path... there was only one way to go.  it would eventually lead me to that center.  no matter how many twists and turns i took, no matter how far away from the center i was, if i kept walking, i would get to the center... to my destination.  if i just... kept... walking. 

i would get close, then far again.  walk straight towards the middle, just to learn that i would skirt the center without making it in.  i would be brought all the way out to the outer edge again, before, finally, with tears streaming down my face, i slowly stepped in that center. 

i made it.

it wasn't the path i would've chosen, had i been the one to make the path.  i wouldn't have even thought of going so astray just to get to my center.  but i got there.  one step at a time.  i didn't find the answer in that center, i found it along the way.

had my life taken me in any other direction, we wouldn't have the little boy that we have today. 

we have bad days.  we have good days.  but they all follow along a path.  we get close to our goals, and we get brought far, far away.  but along the way, we see things we may have never otherwise seen. 

i will look around.  i will learn from my days.  no matter how hard they are. 

it's my everyday labyrinth.

hot water bottle...

a few months ago, my sister had her third child...

an adorable, smushy, chunk-a-licious, little girl named serene.

i met her for the first time a couple of weeks ago.  she's quite yummy.

prior to her arrival, i made my sister a hot water bottle cover.  i can't, for the life of me, remember what the reasoning behind it was... but i think it was something to help with her pregnancy.  aches and pains?  i don't know.  seems like my pregnancy brain just won't let me remember.

i do remember, though, when leo was just a few months old... he would have such tummy pain... and would be so sad about it.  brian or i would hold him, with a hot water bottle in between us so it would press against his little belly... and he would be asleep in minutes.

so, even if i can't recall why the cover was made... it can be helpful now that baby serene is here :)

i started by tracing the shape of the hot water bottle onto a piece of paper.  i then scrapped together some random pieces of old sweaters.  most of them had been felted in the wash, so they were pretty sturdy.  and used a nice, big chunk of cashmere i had for one side...  so it's nice and soft.

i then used some more scraps to make a design on the front.  i serged it all togeher, without doing any sewing.  i used a sleeve cuff for the opening to give it some extra give when putting the water bottle inside.

and that was that!  a cute little hot water bottle for the mama to be of three :)