A Little Recap of the Week

I seem to have more time to read these days, especially during long feedings with the Peanut. Remember I have a magazine obsession? (Don't forget this list of what to do with your magazines when you're finished with them.)  

My mom sent me a Bird magazine of all things over the summer... and while I'm not a bird fan, I have a new thing for hummingbirds. I saw my first one, finally, the day after we brought the Peanut home from the hospital. Over the past few weeks, we've seen nearly one hummingbird a day! Apparently we're right along their flight path as they migrate south -- and September is a prime viewing month.

Birds aren't the only things I'm reading about though. The other day the Sailor and I were in town and I had a rare moment to run into a craft store to grab a magazine. The pickings were slim, until I saw that Interweave has just come out with a special edition Crochet Scene magazine! I was hooked and of course I had to have it. Knit Scene is one of my favorite magazines out there, although admittedly, I've skipped the past few issues since I knew I'd be making baby things instead of sweaters for myself in the months to come. 

Although, let's face it, thanks to the generosity of my friends, I have lots of cool clothes for the Peanut and probably don't need to knit many more just yet. And because of that, I've been writing a ton of Thank You notes. My top tip lately for writing multiple thank you notes? Make sure you keep a list of who gave you what. I have a running list, and then I just tick the name as soon as I write and address the note. 
 
(However, I did splurge on the crochet magazine!) 

I mean, how cute is this bag?! Hopefully I can get more than just a dishcloth done in the near future with the Peanut. 

Speaking of the Peanut, he is swiftly growing out of these jeans! Aren't they the cutest things EVER, though?

The Peanut of course is growing, because he's eating a ton. (As am I....) Having the Sailor home for so long meant that he cooked a lot during the early newborn weeks. Grilling season may be over in some parts of the States, but where I live, it's still gorgeous out and frankly, a little cool in the air is the perfect time to get your BBQ on. Here are the Sailor's top grilling tips. 

And, what goes in must come out! The cloth diapering experiment is still going strong, and frankly, I'm actually enjoying it. My current vote is that I love basic flats with a simple diaper cover over them. I hope to do a longer cloth diapering post later... in the meantime, it's probably time to change the Peanut. 

Hope you are having a wonderful Fall-inspired weekend! 

Receiving Receiving Blankets

Many moons ago, I happened to be visiting a friend in Canada when she went into labor. She had a home birth planned, but my plan was to be on a plane before the baby made an appearance. 

As it happened, she delivered her third baby boy a little early. While I didn't witness the actual momentous occasion (I sat at her kitchen table trying to concentrate on a crossword puzzle), I do remember the midwives calling out for me to put a bunch of towels in the dryer, which I dutifully did.

That was my contribution to the birth. A few towels in the dryer. 

I never knew what they did with those warm towels -- I just figured they were important based on the urgency of the request. 
 
More recently, while shopping for the Peanut, I noticed 'receiving blankets' everywhere I went. For some reason they reminded me of those towels I tossed into that dryer all of those years ago. 

Receiving blankets often make their appearance at baby showers as gifts. I even bought a pack of them myself when I first started swooning over small items for the Peanut. 

And then after I washed and folded them, I thought: 'What in the world do you use these things for?!' Apparently the original use was to 'receive' a baby at the hospital after delivery (probably the same thing those warm towels were used for in Canada.) 

But beyond that... what do you do with these things? Most receiving blankets I've seen are too tiny to actually swaddle a baby.

However, in the whole six weeks I've been a mama, I've discovered a myriad of uses for what I assumed were useless blankets. 

So, if you're on the receiving end of too many receiving blankets, fear not. You'll find a use for them! Here are some ideas: 

1. If they are big enough, you can actually swaddle the baby! I received one flannel blanket from my mother-in-law in South Africa that is huge. It's perfect for snuggling the baby after a bath. 

2. Use them as a portable changing mat. So far, I've only changed the Peanut in one public restroom (yeesh). You can bet your bottom (and your baby's) that I didn't put him straight down on that changing table. I put a receiving blanket under him and then that thing went straight into the wash as soon as we got home. 

3. Use at home with your changing mat. I don't know about you, but my little Peanut made a mess with the first few changes at home. (Operator error had a lot to do with it.) And the little changing table attached to the Pack 'n Play was frigid. It was just easier at first to throw a receiving blanket on the pad and then wash that if it got wet or dirty. Plus it was a little cozier for the Peanut. 

4. Keep a few in the car. They're useful to wipe up messes, or to use as a changing mat in the car when the public restrooms are too scary (see #2).

5. Use as burp cloths or to pass the baby off to other people who visit (who knows what germs are on people -- hand them a receiving cloth to use a barrier!) 

6. Fold the smaller ones into cloth diapers. I haven't tried this yet, but I figure in a pinch, they are about the same size as my flat diapers and I could use them as back-ups, or even as an extra layer overnight.

7. Use as small towels or washcloths. After mine start to deteriorate, I'll probably go ahead and cut them up and then zig-zag the edges to prevent fraying, and use them as smaller washcloths. 

So you see, receiving receiving blankets isn't so useless after all.

Knit One, Purl None

In the past five weeks, I've managed to knit one washcloth. 

ONE.

Remember this is my go-to 'in between' project. It's not like I just learned to knit... But I am learning that sometimes you need more than two hands to knit with a newborn in tow. 

Baby steps, right?!

Growing Into the Knits

Dear readers, I don't know what happened to August, but all I know is I have a rapidly growing one-month-old babe who will fit into this little cotton cardi before I know it. 

I think I'm officially in denial. 

One month already?! 

Despite August whizzing by in a blur, I managed to quickly pop into the local yarn store last week and I found these great buttons. I held off on putting the buttons on this cardigan I made in July, until I knew whether the Peanut was a boy or girl. I don't often see black on baby clothes, but I think these wooden buttons are the perfect accent for a little boy's cardigan. (And, remember to save that extra yarn in every project -- even if it's not much. In this case, I used a bit of leftover yarn to sew on the buttons!)

Changing the calendar to September always makes me think of Fall, of going back to school and of cooler weather sweaters. Although students here have been in school for weeks already, and the temperatures outside are still hotter than blazes, I know Autumn is right around the corner. 

Even though I'm sad to see summer go in a few short weeks, I'm glad my little guy has some fun handmade knits to get him through the changing seasons. And let's face it, they're far faster and more fun to make than the adult-sized versions!

Happy September, everyone! 

When Life Gives You Overripe Bananas...

The only thing to do is to use them up!

Years ago when I worked onboard the Love Boat, crew members would routinely request bananas from the galley whenever they had a craving for baking. Bananas were plentiful in Africa... but they still went brown after a few days of being stored onboard. In such cases (and depending on the chef...) they were often up for grabs rather than getting tossed out with the garbage.

The ship was equipped with small crew kitchens called ripostos. (I have no idea if that is the correct spelling... I've never figured out where the term came from.) 

Spelling aside, I was never a fan of cooking in these ripostos -- mainly because they never seemed to be up to my standard of cleanliness. Plus, we had a whole crew of kitchen staff who served us three meals a day. Nevertheless, I occasionally wanted to bake something. Anything.

I acquired a small oven (on par with the looks of a child's easy bake...) and somehow I was allowed to use it in my tiny cabin. Along with my own coffee maker, it allowed me to have a homey feel when I started to get claustrophobic about eating in the same dining room as hundreds of other people.

I love having no-fail recipes. My no-fail recipe onboard was an apple cake made with an insane amount of oil and a fridge milk-tart (admittedly, I failed numerous times on the latter one until I figured out the difference between corn starch and corn meal. DUH.) I don't think I had a no-fail banana bread recipe at the time, but eventually, I found one on land. This Banana Banana Bread one is in my favorites and is insanely quick and easy.

So quick and easy in fact that yesterday, after lunch, I commented to the sailor how rotten the bananas looked on the counter, and within minutes of him suggesting I make banana bread, the ingredients were mixed and in the oven.

An hour later.... Banana Banana Bread. Baked in and served on vintage Pyrex, of course.