Ramblings...

A conversation with a friend got me to thinking about forgiveness and what it really is. Talking to others, I realized my thoughts differed a bit from the mainstream. The friend in question was amazed when I told her I had forgiven my stepfather who "got to me" as a little girl. I was amazed when she thought this meant we had re-established some sort of relationship. I told her we hadn't, that in fact I had never told him I'd forgiven him, and that if he ever so much as looked at my girls I'd put a bullet in his head. To me forgiveness doesn't change the nature of the person; it's something you do for the sake of your own soul. I have found peace with what happened by forgiving him that I never had in the years of holding on to being angry or hurt. Forgiveness is not a doorway back into my life to cause more trouble, though. If a person is a predator or a liar or a cheat, they still are after they are forgiven and it is still my responsibility to protect me and mine from them. I dunno where I was going with this, I've been chewing on it for a while after said conversation and this little tidbit from U2's new album:

Choose your enemies carefully because they will define you
Make them interesting because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning but when your story ends
Gonna last with you longer than your friends

Random Thoughts and Gabriel photo

I got a great deal on some knitted wool pants from one of the Pin mamas and Gabriel looks so cute I had to share a pic with everyone. The shirt I made according to his weight but it's too big, so I customized the pattern and will have to post another pic when it's finished. I'm trying to hunt down some green trim...

I'm having trouble getting started back on WW after Gabriel's birth. Most of my WW food requires a bit of cooking and I've been too tired trying to figure out how to juggle 3 kids and adjust to Dean being on a 7/7 schedule now. It's really rough around here at the moment.

Gabriel looks so much bigger in photos than he really is. He's got Nadine's build and a really tiny head. He's my dad with Dean's nose and eye shape. I don't see a resemblance to Claudia except in photos. I can still hold him around the waist and have my fingers touch...he will come out just like Nadine but he has Claudia's voracious appetite. This should be fun to watch. He frustrates me the most in photos because he has this really bright smile that will light up a room and loves to show it off but the moment I pull out the camera it's mug shot time. *sigh*

New Gabriel Pics and Another Sewing Adventure

We've been crazy busy around here. Last week was spent getting ready for Nadine's recital, and on Saturday she came down with a panic attack from stage fright and just couldn't dance. We're heartbroken in a way but she will overcome it. She's wanting to beat it this summer so she can try out for Nutcracker this fall. I got her ballet pictures on Friday, and if I can get my scanner to cooperate we'll have those pics sometime this week. The glass is dirty and I'm having a heck of a time getting rid of the streaks from cleaning it...if anyone has any ideas for no-streak glass cleaner I'm all ears. I did get a blouse done for Nadine in the last couple of days, and she loves it. She says she feels very ladylike in it. See pic on left.







I finally got the pics done of Gabriel in his Goodmama and Bububebe cloth diapers so my 'Pin mama friends can see how they work on an itty bitty skinny minny. The MCZ is the Bububebe (bottom). In this pic he has the newborn doubler in. I like the fit but my one complaint is that the leg elastic keeps turning in now that it has been washed a few times. I have to turn it out with my finger every time I put it on him, and it's not a big deal but still annoying. The blue hiding giraffes Goodmama (top) is without any doublers. In both of the above diapers Gabriel is 13 pounds and 24" long. I like the fit of the GM a lot better because the leg elastic stays turned out and I still haven't had a poop leak from them. If B4 pricing goes up too much, I'll probably stick exclusively to GMs. I do think the B4s will last longer (they are larger) and I like the quality of the construction better, but that stupid elastic turning in causes poop leaks sometimes...Grr! I love the cloth, though, and am really wishing I would have had the nerve to bring it up to Dean with the girls. Boy could we be ahead financially plus I don't miss the daily leaks and poopsplosions we had with disposables. Our trash has been cut in half, too. Dean and I both love them. :)


Oh yeah, I have one more pic for this installment of the blog if the family's still with me. It's half showing off Dean and the girls and half showing off our new Canon digital SLR. This was taken about 9 p.m. with the camera on full auto. It is amazing (even more amazing in full 12 MP quality, but still. I didn't edit it except for cropping the pic down to size.

More Sewing Projects and Beautiful Models...

I love my girls, and my girls love clothes. What can I say? I spoil them rotten. We go in fabric shops and they pick what they want and then I figure out what to make of it. It's worth it to see their faces the first time they put their new clothes on and then when they tell people mommy made it for them it's like I did something magical. OK, so they are spoiling me a bit more than I'll admit. Dean likes that I make them because I can make the dresses long enough for Nadine. Most of her clothes are cut the width of a 3 or 4 but the length of a 5. I love my little string bean. ;) First up is Nadine in her bright striped skort set and then in her Easter dress. Next is Claudia in her froggie skort. I still have Ariel PJs and a Tinkerbell dress to take pics of, but they are in the wash.

We got Dean fixed last week, so no more babies for us. I think 3 is all we need. Now I can get serious about losing the weight and moving on towards a career. Now all I need is oil to go up about $20 a barrel and the oilfield will be a stable job again...

Oh Beth, I haven't forgotten to take pics of Gabriel in his B4 and GMs, I just plain ole haven't done it. He's been sleeping in those dipes lately, and I'm pro letting sleeping babies sleep. My new Canon DSLR is just too dang loud and the flash too bright. *chuckle*

Bit by the sewing bug!

Yep, I'm having way more fun than a person should be allowed to have, and I'm having it sewing! I have a few other things I haven't taken pics of, but Dean and I fell HARD for this dress on Claudia today. It is stunning in person and worth the week or so of anxiety about the zipper (stupid Natchez doesn't carry yellow zippers). Claudia chose the fabric and I admit it looked pretty out there to me in a 2-yard lump, but she was persistent and I figured that with Claudia's personality the clothes don't have a hope of wearing her, if you know what I mean. We bought Easter dresses, but this one has replaced it and now Dean has picked a fabric for Nadine so I can make a dress to replace her Easter dress, too. Her Tinkerbell dress, oddly enough, is too big even though it's the same size and supposedly for the same measurements of other patterns of the same brand. Oh well. She's not going to outgrow her Tinkerbell fascination any time soon.