MommyCoddle

Look What The Cat Dragged In

Probably a more accurate title for this post would be, "look what the cat left behind".

Yesterday Emma and I became foster parents to this tiny little kitten. It was left behind in a litter of kittens that were born in the barn yesterday. The mother moved all the rest of the babies, but never came back for this one. We watched it all afternoon and by evening, when it was still there, crying and cold, we decided to intervene. Emma has named it Dolly--(quite an improvement from the first name she gave it: Angelina...dramatically pronounced AHN-gelina).
We wrapped the kitten in a heating pad, and made a late night run to the petshop for milk replacer and a tiny bottle.
It was quite a night under our roof. Mary came down with ear infections in both ears which was accompanied by crusty eyes. She ended up in bed with me and Dan and the kitten ended up in her room so that I could quietly get up and do nightime feedings.
So, we made it through the night. But every time Dolly falls asleep for a long time, I go to the box to check, expecting the worst. She has to be at least a day or two old and barely even looks like a kitten to me. Of course Dan's first reaction to me saying she didn't look very cat-like was, "wouldn't it be funny if it just turned out to be a baby rat?" No. It wouldn't.

Thank goodness for my sister--the animal know-it-all, wildlife rehabilitator, who patiently handled multiple calls from me last night and told me important things like how much to feed it and that I needed to wipe its bum with a warm cloth to get it to have a BM (very unpleasant, but amazingly, it works.)  I called her this morning to see if I could pass Dolly on to her, but she's too busy with the orphaned baby screech owl she's raising, her cat who's being nursed back to health after getting a paw stuck in a trap and a dog who's ready to have her puppies (not to mention three children to take care of)...so Emma and I are on our own. Doing our best. Hoping for a healthy little life for Dolly.

A Sewing Starter Kit and Good Mail

Yesterday my little sister hit the double digits. Since she received a sewing machine last Christmas, I thought I'd put together a little sewing starter kit for her to hopefully get her inspired. I included some fabric from my stash, ribbons, notions and even some cotton tape with her name on it so that she can tag her creations.

The fabric for the bag is from an IKEA table cloth--a nice heavy cotton twill. When I brought it home, it was way too big for my little table (which I knew when I bought it), so half became a re-sized tablecloth and the other used for the bag.

I've also gotten some great stuff in the mail as a result of some fabric I offered up for swap last month before we moved. Some beautiful earrings from Dawn at ruralmama--that have increased my earring stash by 300 percent! Really--I wear earrings, but I had lost all pairs (at least one from the pairs). It is so fun to have some to wear again. And I WILL NOT lose these! She also sent some neat
vintage black buttons that I LOVE, but my camera just would not cooperate. I think the batteries are low...

And this doll came from Mirre at Kisskus. My girls love it (I think I love it more). It is the perfect hug-ability. And of course, there's no sharing with these kinds of things in this house, so we've already swapped for another. She sells them via her shop, along with some other sweet baby toys.

Managing the bog.

I've really made a mess of things over here at mollycoddle. I haven't been giving my blog much style and content attention lately, so with my little lazy dial-up connection, I've been trying to slowly make a few changes. As you can see, I've only been successful at rearranging the order of my sidebars (which wasn't even my intent) and changing the band of color running down the sides. (also not my intent)
According to my sidebar, I've been listening to the same four CD's since Christmas, my children haven't ventured to read anything beyond a few short stories out of poppleton, nothing good has come from my kitchen since fiberballs, and the last thing I knitted was a holiday gift!(well, that may be true, i'll have to think about that one.)
Not only that, I realize that my sidebar is sadly neglecting the wonderfully inspiring blogs that I visit daily. I'm not sure I've updated that since I began blogging and we all know that the little sidebar is a wonderful way to share eachother's blogs and expand our little community.
So, bear with me, as I make a few changes...or at least try. I'm hoping to enlist a little help with my blog banner because I hate fiddling with the pixels....
And could someone PLEASE give me a lesson on importing my feeds from bloglines? There's got to be an easy way to do this!!

I was just reading an email from my mom who was commenting on how nice it was to catch up with me by reading my blog. Her ironic typo said, "it's wonderful bogging with you!" That's about what I have right now--a bog. A murky mess. So please be patient as I try to drain off some of the sludge and find dry ground around here somewhere.
And when I become un-stuck I have much to share--including lots of wonderful swappy things wingy their into my mailbox and beyond.

Try To Contain Yourself...

Try to control yourself. I'm about to show a few pictures that might raise your blood pressure and cause  involuntary drooling...behold the ribbon outlet....should I make the reservation for a tour bus? I won't even begin to tell you about the prices. You just wouldn't believe me.

And this is how one might look after a trip to the ribbon outlet:

Everyday Creativity

I'm sure most of you have heard of the whiplash competition over at whipup. This was a project I whipped up over the weekend, without the competition in mind. Then, I later realized that it fit perfectly with this week's theme.

I purchased these plain tshirts at a shop with plans to add a little personal touch.
I'd much rather be the author of my children's clothing than a chain store's tacky slogans and tee fronts littered with beads and glitter. Forgive me if I'd rather my four-year-old's tee didn't advertise her sassy-ness or that fact that she was 'too hot to handle'.
So, this is my own simple design. Easy, everyday, classic, censored, and all mine.

My Worst Nightmare...

My worst nightmare realized today, when I looked above my bed. Those are my pillows. That is where I lay my head at night. That is a spider. A big spider. A spider that could easily fall on to my head while I'm sleeping. Or onto my face. Or into my mouth. Or get tangled in my hair. My worst nightmare realized. You can bet I'll be checking and double checking the wall above my pillows each night, and the ceilings and the surrounding walls.
I won't even tell you the rest of the story--of how I tried to kill it with a flyswatter and how it fell to the pillow, then somewhere behind my bed. And how I ripped my bed out from the wall searching desperately for the spider corpse. Which I finally found. But I know spiders. I know they play dead all the time--all shriveled up, folded legs...all dead looking. And when you walk away, they unfold their little furry legs and scurry away. So I made sure he was dead. I squished him with the metal handle of the swatter. But his wrinkled spider corpse is still there behind my bed. Just below the place where I lay my head, where I seek peace and solace each night. I still feel like he may come back. He may reappear and seek revenge. I won't believe he's really gone until I somehow convince my husband to pick him up in a little ball of toilet paper which I'll watch go swirling down the toilet and out of the house and into the sea somewhere. Then I'll really believe he's gone. But then I wonder if his spider friends will be upset and haunt me--the one who took this little hairy life and flushed it down the toilet.  I'll wake up in the middle of the night and there will be not just one, but five spiders dangling precariously on the wall above my head--watching me, contemplating my breathing. Deciding how to repay me for the loss of spider life.

I used to be blue...

...but now I think green may slowly be creeping up as first in line of my long list of favorite colors.

The girls and I went to IKEA this morning. I was determined to buy a cheap pendant lamp for over our kitchen sink, after I saw my husband leaning over the counter this morning, eating his bowl of cereal in the dark. He gets up early to go to work, and since our "open concept" apartment means that our bed is just around the corner from the kitchen, he doesn't want to turn the lights on and wake me up. (at least this is what I'm assuming he's doing...maybe he just likes to eat in the dark..) Well, I've been wanting one of these lights too, because for some reason a well-lighted sink, when you're doing dinner dishes, is much more cheerful than a dimly lit one...
So when I came home from IKEA with a few more things than just a kitchen light, I realized that there's a shift going on in my color attractions.
I found this quilt cover for Emma's bed on an amazing sale. I'm trying to convince her that there's more colors in the world besides pink. This cover is quite a jump for her, so if she ends up not liking it, the price was good enough to just save it in my fabric stash. I had to pull the old Martha trick and stitch some cotton tape into the corners to hold her quilt in place. I hate it when they slide all around and get bunched inside the duvet.

I also got this chair for my desk. I had a wooden desk chair on loan, but it was too low, and I was worried about it scratching the floor when I moved back and forth. And, you just can't beat the prices at IKEA. As you can see more green...and can you catch a glimpse of my bedside table..(please forgive the mess. this photo was not posed, obviuosly)

*****thanks to all of you who shared about your dishwashing implements. It seems that the ocello sponge wins out as a favorite. A few of you really liked the scrub brushes at IKEA and Laura shared a photo on her blog of a sponge/pad that her husband's grandmother crochets. This looks like a winner, too.
Thanks everyone for your input! I'm glad I asked.

Some Inspiration and a question...

This is probably my most expensive post ever. I'm sitting in Barnes and Noble (where i had to PAY to connect),and my kids are exploring while I type.  Emma is pulling every 'strictly forbidden' book off the shelf--Dora, Barbie, Barney--knowing this is her one chance to peruse them. I've been teaching her a new rule which is working quite well--"no characters. No characters on our clothes, shoes, bedding, books. Characters stay inside the TV." She actually, finally understands this. I hate how mainstream clothing is covered in barbie and disney and dora. I just want a pair of shoes or a nice cotton nightgown for my children. No advertising, no gimmicky character necessary.
But I digress...
I'm sitting in BN posting because--have I told you?--our new place does not have high speed internet, so I'm back to the old days of dial-up and those wonderful screeching, screaming, dinging noises as I sit and wait for my connection. So, it has caused me to get quite creative in my blogging and blog-reading...I've been to BN, a local coffeeshop, the parking lot of our local community college(my most desperate yet) and surfed from my father's office. The cable company tells me my woes will be no more at the end of the summer. So if I seem a little slow with reading or posting for the summer, now you know why....

When I was walking through my grandmother's house the other day, I found this book. I think many of us have similar versions of "the quiet book"--which I love, but this one had a few different pages that I really liked. It got me a little inspired to try to make my own. My pictures are pretty pathetic because I was rushing, but here they are:

I love the ideas in this book--the teddy bear puzzle, the matching shapes and the sliding beads. Gives me something to think about....

And lastly, I told you I had a question. Oftentimes, when I'm doing something around the house I wonder what other people use or like to get the job done, so for today I have my first of what may be more questions to come--what tool do you use to wash dishes? Our new place has no dishwasher and I often wonder what other people find best for washing their dishes. I'm a big fan of the o-cello sponges with the one side that scours--but is there a better way? I'm anxious to hear what you all prefer for your dishwashing needs....

Pendants!

My first batch of chunky stoneware pendants are up on MY ETSY. I'm offering free shipping for awhile, too.
Here's a preview:

A Weekend In Pictures II

Sometimes I like my pictures better than my words.

 

Necessary Needlework

I have never, nor will I ever claim to be good at the delicate embroidery work like those I see among my other blogging friends. However, I have a feeling there will be much more necessary needlework in my future. This pair of jeans that belong to Mary were unstained and un-torn when we arrived here just over a week ago. And now, thanks to spending probably more time outside than in, they are stained, frayed and threadbare at the knees. So, just in time for spring, I whipped up a little birdie patch to cover her chubby bare knees.

A Weekend In Pictures...

A Lovely Spring Weekend:
The girl's check out Dan's new place of employment.
Maryland cousins come for a visit.
Sunday dinner on the patio.

   

When Did I Lose Control?

When did I lose control?  The thought struck me as I was called to the breakfast table by my four year old, who had set the table, poured cereal, milk and juice, laid out napkins for all, and chosen an “after breakfast cookie” for each person.  When Mary reached for her cookie right away, she took it out of her hand and in her best motherly voice explained that she would allow her to have a cookie only after she had eaten her whole bowl of cereal. And of course, Mary was completely compliant with the deal, picked up her spoon (well more accurately, picked up her bowl) and began to finish her breakfast.
So, when did I lose control? What have I become to this independent four year old? The old woman who lives in her house while she runs a home and takes care of a two year old? Oh well. Perhaps I should celebrate her independence and the natural mothering abilities that seem to be emerging at such a young age.
Maybe tomorrow, I’ll teach her to scrub the toilets and scour the shower tile.