Under The Humble Moon

Henna belly!

2012-02-18T17:39:00.002-08:00

My dear friends are so thoughtful and gifted me a session with a henna artist to get my belly painted to celebrate the end of my pregnancy. I wanted to do something special for my last pregnancy and wasn't sure if I would get around to making a belly cast this time around.
I spent this past Valentine's Day evening getting my belly painted. The tree is significant to this pregnancy and the sweet babe we will hopefully meet very shortly. I think the artist did an amazing job, she even offered to paint Sophie's hand. I am so grateful for my caring friends :) It really meant a lot to me and it wouldn't have happened without them.
I was hoping baby would stay put until Friday so the henna would darken enough to get some fun pictures. I had some pretty intense warm up contractions for several hours on Thursday night and though that may not happen, but we were blessed with a little more time.
I think I am the only mama in history still wanting to be pregnant at 39 weeks 5 days.

This Moment...

2012-02-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

A moment from my week to cherish and remember inspired by Soulemama.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

Yep, flowers are budding out already:)Spring is just around the corner!

I though I would share some of my recent Valentines Day inspired crafts that I have made over the past few weeks.

This heart garland was super fun and easy to make. Solomon helped me whip this up in less than 20 minutes. The cutting of the felt was the only thing that took any time as I just sewed a straight seam through them with my machine to join them together. I double layered the hearts in contrasting colors to make them a little more interesting. A great way to use up old scraps of felt( I knew I was keeping them for a reason).

I have been holding onto this fabric for ages, not sure what to do with it. But I was inspired one day to make myself a nice elastic skirt that would fit for the last weeks of pregnancy and would be really easy to adjust the waist once I don't need as much room in the waist area. I have been busting the seams(literally) of the maternity clothing that was borrowed to me(sorry Taryn, I will fix them) so it nice to have something I can still wear at this point, just with some leggins or long johns underneath. I totally just made up the pattern. And for what it is worth I have worn it several times and still haven't cut the lose strings off..lol.
So lazy these days...where is my nesting energy this time around?
Baby is due in five days!!!!!

A Mama Blessing Felt Tapestry

2012-02-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

This picture is before felting. The colors are better shown here, bright and beautiful.

After felting.

A few weekends ago a few of my dear friends came over for a felting Mama blessing party. We got the idea from the summer 2011 issue of Living Crafts magazine to make a wet felted tapestry for the new baby on the way.
I was joking with my friends about what their husbands were thinking when they left their homes with bubble wrap and spray bottles and huge bags of roving in every color imaginable...."Your going to what kind of party?"

None of us had very much experience in wet felting and it felt like we were pretty much just winging it, but it turned out really great. It was a wonderful collaboration of materials and ideas and friendship that I will always cherish and remember. I plan to frame it in a large embroidery hoop and hang it on the wall where the new baby will be able to see and enjoy it.

It was so nice to get together for a few hours kid free, with some crafting some tea and cupcakes and of course best of all, uninterrupted conversation which is so very hard to come by when our children are always around.
I am so thankful for my fiber loving friends. We are already talking about making more in the near future, preferably in the warm sunshine......outdoors....... with margaritas ;)

This moment...

2012-02-10T08:33:00.000-08:00

(photo by Sophie)
A moment to cherish and remember from my week. Inspired by Soulemama.

Enjoying the sun...

2012-02-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

We have really been blessed by great weather here in Oregon this winter. We have lived here almost 10 years and I can't remember a sunnier winter. It is fantastic. We took advantage of the sun last weekend and although it was quite windy we took a little hike across the Columbia River over in Washington State. We found a rocky mossy hilltop that overlooked a waterfall and spent some time basking in the sun. It would have been a perfect spot for a picnic if only we would have thought ahead, but a picnic in February, who would have thunk it? I think we may need to do just that in the near future.

This Moment...

2012-02-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

A moment from our week to cherish and remember, inspired by Soulemama.

Yarn Along

2012-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

I am joining Ginny at Small Things this week for the yarn along.
I have just pages to go in The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This was a pick from my book club, very imaginative and well written. I have so much on my mind these days that I had a bit of trouble escaping into the book as much as I would have liked too.
I also have been browsing through The Rhythm of Family by Amanda Soule.

I am currently knitting a Kicking Bag for our baby that is soon to arrive. It is a slow going mindless knit on tiny size 2 needles in sock yarn, ahh just what I needed. I love having a project I can knit while not looking at my hands. This has been a fantastic portable project, I have taken it in the car, to the park, knit while while making french toast and and I got several inches done this morning at the Science Museum.
I love the colorway, gender neutral enough I think. It reminds me very much of my Grandpa Clarence, my Father's Father who passed away when I was a child. I should knit my Dad a pair of socks in this yarn for Father's Day.

New Fleece Gnome Hats

2012-01-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

I have added yet some more new items to my Etsy shop and though I would share them here as well. I designed these gnome hats a long time ago but have just got around to getting pictures of them and posting them on my shop.
It is time to pay the Midwives so I am shamelessly promoting my shop until I can do so, hope you understand. Please tell your friends about Humble Luna!
I am always happy to take custom orders. If you would like a particular color or size I would be happy to accommodate.
More info on the gnome hats here.

Winter Green....

2012-01-23T16:23:00.000-08:00

New items on Humble Luna!

2012-01-17T19:06:00.000-08:00

I have added a few new items to my shop including Love Dragon costumes just in time for Valentine's Day. Also some new hand knits in baby sizes. I also have few items featured that would make great unique gifts for Valentine's Day.
Any business I receive from Humble Luna is a major blessing to my family and is extremely appreciated.
Please take a look.....
Humble Luna

There is so much to explore....

2012-01-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

We have been blessed with a very mild winter so far with warm days perfect for spending some time outside and ridding ourselves of that yucky trapped inside cabin fever feeling. We spent some time at a local garden, exploring and wandering and just enjoying the day. We let Solomon lead the way with his magnifying glass in hand. He ran the whole time. He was so happy having the freedom to just run where he wanted to, he had a great time. Living in a city I don't often feel comfortable to just let him explore freely very often. Although I did get a little worried when he got too far ahead since his outfit was perfect camouflage . In fact I just had a nightmare last night that we were at a park in the city and he was climbing huge ladders several stories high to go down very large slides, all the other parents at the park were calm watching their children climb but I was terrified. The after he made it safely down the huge slide we were caught in a police shoot out right there in the park. yikes! Maybe it is a hormonal thing I am going through right now.

My kids are my life and it is slightly terrifying to love them so incredibly much. I am looking forward to having our new babe safely earthside in a few weeks but also enjoying the peace of carry him or her inside, where they are safe. But I know as a mama letting go is part of it, letting our children explore and discover the world on their own is a beautiful natural thing. I am still learning to let them little by little, hoping that by the time they are college aged I will be able to deal with it just fine. Thank goodness I have several more years to practice.

Discovering new friends as well....

I love how chubby squirrels get in the winter, I just want to squeeze this little guy..

Sollie thought he was pretty cute too...

Are you coming, Mama?

This Moment..a right of passage.

2012-01-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

Notice anything different?

Here is a clue..

Did you figure it out?

I am breaking the rules a bit but still wanted to join in for This Moment.
A special moment from our week to cherish and remember, inspired by Soulemama.

Yarn Along...and kind of a long rant.

2012-01-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

Joining Ginny this week for the knit along since I have been somewhat productive and motivated the last few weeks. All I needed was some rainbow yarn to motivate me to create some new baby hats for some of the new babies that are coming into the world in my circle of friends and neighbors. I am tempted to keep them for my babe as well, but it will be more fun to knit for him or her once I know if baby is a him or her. Any baby can wear a rainbow though, right. Knitting without patterns and with happy yarn boosted my spirits.

Right now I am reading positive birthing stories from Ina May's Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide To Childbirth to get my mind prepared for giving birth again in about 6 weeks from now. Spiritual Midwifery was the first book I bought when I found out I was pregnant with my eldest. I was only 19 at the time and was very scared and wasn't getting any positive energy from anyone at the time about the baby. Spiritual Midwifery was like water to my thirsty spirit, it made me feel positive and excited for motherhood and happy to be pregnant. I know the language and ideas are very hippie and out there, but so are my current midwives and I love them. They give me nothing but positive thoughts and energy despite the difficult pregnancy I have had this time around. I will hold onto this book until I am a grandmother, it is beautiful and positive like a good friend.
I am trying to feel positive about the birth. Trying to get my body out of anemia before the birth and trying to savor the last few weeks of this pregnancy which will be my last,and looking forward to the future instead of struggling through the moment.

Speaking of the future... I am also reading a book by a local Oregon woman called To The Woods: Sinking Roots, Living Lightly, and Finding True Home by Evelyn Searle Hess. Is about a woman and her husband who leave city life to live in the woods starting pretty much from scratch, renting out their home in the city to live in a run down trailer on the nursery that they own.
Ben and I have had this same dream for years. To own land and start small with a trailer and eventually build a simple home. It is very inspiring. Evelyn was in her 50's when she moved out to the woods, so that gives me comfort that it isn't too late for us to still fulfill that dream.
We are hoping to relocate in the very near future. Due to financial hardship and absolutely no savings, and our 3rd child to be born in the next month owning land and building a home is a far away dream. But we would like to get out of the city and find a house to rent, some where the kids could play outside and we could see the stars at night. Our daughter hits the gap between Elementary School and Middle School this summer and I think it would be an ideal time for us to relocate. I am so in a nesting phase where I just wish we had a home where our children can grow up, a place to call our own, no matter how humble it may be. We are used to living on very little, and we take pleasure in being outdoors in this beautiful state. Oh to be able to hike in one's own back yard.... but I will miss bagpipe playing unicyclists riding by my window,electric bike parades and mobs of drunken folk dressed like Santa running down the street.

This Moment...first time bowling

2012-01-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

(I cant get over how stinking cute he looked in thoes tiny bowling shoes.)

A special moment from our week to cherish and remember.
Inspired by Soulemama.

A kitty hat for my cat lover girl

2012-01-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

I only knit one gift for Christmas this year, a cat hat for Sophie my little cat lover. She loves her cat Lola so much when she came home from visiting her Grandparents for a month( and not seeing her mom for that long) this summer the first thing she did was find her cat and give her a hug. Lola has pretty much been tucked under her arm since we got her when Sophie was 4 years old. When I was thinking of gifts for her for the holidays I thought she would like a pattern that I found in my very old and well loved copy of Stitch and Bitch, also found here.
She really likes her hat and it has already been rescued from the lost and found of her school once(after only two days back at school). It is nice finally knitting her something she will actually wear and she genuinely likes.

Homemade Monkey Birthday!

2012-01-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

Solomon has always picked his Birthday cake every year. This year he said monkey and I went a little nuts with the monkey theme. I found a monkey finger puppet pattern on Ravelry and decided to make monkey puppets and masks for Solomon and his buddies. Although it turns out only half the kids showed up for the party so I could have saved myself a lot of time had I known, lesson learned.

So not only did we have monkey cake we had monkey puppets, monkey masks, monkey paper chains, monkey balloon animals and by the time it came to make monkey face shaped pizzas I was just too tired, and the kids could have really cared less about the shape of their pizza. I think they were more focused on the monkey cake.

My sweet little monkey loving 4 year old was quite the happy boy!

Happiest of Birthdays.... my sweet boy

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

I almost can't believe it has been 4 years already. But I can't imagine life without you my sweet boy. You are such a wonderful guy who fills my life with sunshine and joy. You are thoughtful and so clever, you like to sing and wake up singing on a daily basis. You like yellow and bubbles and monkeys and trucks. You tell me you love me and give me kisses randomly all the time.You don't like taking baths and throw a fit when it's bath time only to remember it's " not so bad" once your in it. You also tell us often that "You don't like to do stuff, you don't like to do." I love you so much. I love making your cake and decorating the house late on New Years eve for your party the next day. In my opinion New Years 2008 was the best one ever. I love watching you grow I am so lucky to be your mama! I love how you told everyone you were tuning 12. Happy 4th Birthday Sweet Boy!

Merry Christmas....

2011-12-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a beautiful weekend. May you spend it with people you love.
Merry Christmas!

Happy Winter Solstice!

2011-12-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

I hope the shortest day for you is bright and that you have love and light to fill the darkest night.
****Warmest Solstice Blessings to you****

The Bridges of Lane County....

2011-12-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

While we were on our trip we were able to take a tour of several covered bridges in Lane county. I was thinking of the movie Bridges of Madison County the whole time...that is such a good movie, I am pretty sure it was a book first.
It was a very cold frosty morning and the bridges were full of beautiful frozen spider webs.
I would show you all the frozen web pictures I took, but I took way too many.
What is it that is so romantic about a covered bridge?

Just the two of us....

2011-12-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

It doesn't happen often. Every five years or so Ben and I have had the opportunity to have a night away from our children. This past summer I won a vacation package here in Oregon that included a nights stay at a garden resort about 2 hours away from the city with dinner and wine included. We had planned on visiting this summer but I was too ill to make the trip so we cancelled. Luckily Ben's parents are in town for the holidays and were willing to watch the kids so we could try again before the certificate expired at the end of this month.
Unfortunately the garden was mostly dead by this time of year, but the frozen early morning dew made it beautiful in a different way.

This Moment...

2011-12-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

(Pottery night at Sophie's School)

A moment from the week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

The perfect one...

2011-12-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

A big heartfelt thank you to all the kind people who responded to my last post. Your words have helped me so very much. I know there are a lot of people out there going through hard times and money trouble and a difficult pregnancy is minor compared to what some people have to deal with. I have a lot to be grateful for. My children know that I love them, despite how many gifts may be under the tree this year. I know in my heart what matters most. It is so very difficult to avoid holiday pressure at this time of year but it is so superficial and not what Christmas is about. It's not a time to feel bad about what you don't have, but a time to cherish what you do.
I found out that I do indeed have low iron and also vitamin B and folic acid deficiencies, so at least I know the reason why I was feeling so awful again. I have been feeling stronger after taking a good prenatal vitamin, as well as Floradix and drinking nettle tea like crazy. I know the homemade gifts can wait for another year.....or better yet Birthdays for the coming year(Hey that might be a fun New Years resolution.)
I will do what I can and not feel bad for what I might not be up for this year.It is okay.
***Wising you all lovely, peaceful holidays***

Here are a few pictures from our trip to get our Christmas tree last week. We have been BLESSED with many days of sunshine, it is really wonderful, I do not take the sun for granted in the winter after living in dark rainy Oregon for the past 10 years. This was our first year cutting down a tree for Christmas. The Portland area is surrounded by hundreds( I am not sure this is accurate but they are everywhere!) of Christmas tree farms, really it is amazing. We found a beautiful farm with an amazing view of Mt.Hood and we came home with a cute little tree that was just the one Sollie wanted(thank goodness for that cause once you cut it down then it's yours, man that could have been a major temper tantrum,whew). Sophie decided it would be okay if we got the tree while she was in school cause all she cares about is decorating it, which she did over and over again. She did a great job too and even let Solomon help without too much fuss.
Our cat Lola loves to sit under the tree and drink the water out of the stand, it is a holiday tradition. Our trees usually dry up pretty fast...gee I wonder why?

Hey this place has candy canes!

Leave to this guy to find the stump more interesting than the trees.

Look at that sweet face.

The perfect one...

Overwhelmed...

2011-12-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

*rant warning*
I have been pretty quiet at this space lately. Unfortunately I haven't been feeling well. Thankfully I am not vomiting constantly anymore, just feeling really exhausted and out of breath all the time. Hopefully it is just an iron deficiency( partly due to major illness in beginning of pregnancy and being a vegetarian). I am still waiting to hear back from my midwives about my blood test results. I started taking Floradix and drinking Nettle tea to boost my iron, I have felt a little better since doing so. This pregnancy has been so different that with my other two. I loved being pregnant and felt great with them(after early pregnancy morning sickness) I was very active and hiked up until the day of giving birth. I am so out of shape this time I am out of breath after making my bed and vacuuming the floor.
I don't like feeling helpless and out of control. I don't like relying on my husband to do the work that I would like to be able to do myself around the house.
The holiday season has added a new amount of stress as well. Unemployment has hit my family for the second time in two years. Coming up with money for rent and bills and food is hard enough, thinking about how we will get extra money for holiday gifts is completely overwhelming. I just don't have the energy to make a bunch of gifts this year either. I wish I did.
So I am feeling badly, for our situation and angry with holiday expectations. I wish the holidays wasn't so hard on people. I know I am not alone and that there are many families that are having an ever harder time that we are. Things don't matter, the people in our life that we love is what matters and spending time with them. But still I feel like I am letting my children down and I hate that. I feel guilty that I didn't get the advent calendar that I worked so hard on last year up until today, the 6th. That is silly I know, and really doesn't matter, but still makes me feel inadequate.I don't think my pregnant mind is working rationally either.
Sorry for my rant. I normally don't like to complain or get into super personal problems on my blog , but I think I just really needed to get this off my mind. Hope you understand.

I don't want end on a negative note, so for a huge boost of positive energy and little reminder to how beautiful and amazing life can be check out: This

Birthday Sewing...

2011-12-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

'
My friend's daughter had her Birthday party yesterday and I was struggling up to the last minute with what to make for her. I wanted to make her something cute to wear but also wanted her to have something fun too, so here is what I came up with: a pig mask(her mama tells me she is into pigs) and a fun skirt. I had the fabric sitting around untouched from the summer months and it just screams Portland (put a bird on it). I have been itching to make something girly and colorful lately. The mask is made from eco- felt with a bit of elastic for the strap, fun and super easy to make.
I had plans this summer to add an entire collection of fun funky skirts to my Etsy shop, but never felt well enough to do it. Hopefully by the next skirt season I will have them added to my shop. Although it always seems to be skirt season in Portland, people just wear pants under them:)
By the way I am still squeezing my 7 1/2 month pregnant belly into my regular pants, zipped even, although it is getting quite uncomfortable so I plan to make myself a few skirts for my last few months of pregnancy. ..oh maybe some new legwarmers too.....if only I weren't so tired.

Yarn Along........

2011-11-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

I am joining Ginny today for the knit along, stop by to see lots of amazing knitting and to be inspired, and maybe find a few new books to add to your reading list.

I have just been knitting fingerless mittens like a zombie... mindlessly. It is good therapy though sometimes to just knit something familiar over and over again. I have a ton of wool in my stash for knitting small projects and these tiny mittens take no time at all. Looks like I need to weave in a few loose ends, eh.....
Speaking of stash busting has anyone seen this?
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/labyrinth-circle-rug
I was thinking of giving away a bunch of my stash but now I might just want to hold on to it :) Although this would be a huge project to tackle but would be cool to work on a bit here and there over the years.
I am reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. It was a book suggested through my mama book club and not a book that I ever would have picked up on my own, but I am really enjoying it. It is very well written and has held my interest since I started a little over week ago, which is saying a lot cause my mid is all over the place these days. I need to catch up to my book club friends and finish this book this week though, but I am sure will with my pregnancy insomnia and all.

Alpacas!

2011-11-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

My family and I visited an Alpaca farm open barn in Sherwood, Oregon over the weekend. Aren't they so sweet? The kids had fun getting up close and feeding them. I think their Papa did too:)
The farm had an amazing view from a high elevation and you could see for miles around. It was a really beautiful area. I could have stayed all day. It was so nice to get out of the city as I have been feeling very claustrophobic lately.
Someday I wont have to run away, I will already be there....

This Moment.....

2011-11-25T00:40:00.000-08:00

A moment from my week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Give Thanks....

2011-11-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

Be thankful today and everyday.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Yarn Along.....

2011-11-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

(Sorry for the horrible picture, it has been so dark here in Oregon)

I have been quiet on the blog lately so I thought I would join in this week with the Yarn along with Ginny.
I just finished a pair of baby booties from the yarn left over from the easy baby cardigan. They turned out pretty cute. Although they seem a little big for a newborn so I don't think the sweater and the booties will be worn at the same time, but hey no big deal. The bootie pattern is called "Ruth's Perfect Baby Booties" and can be found here. How many times did I say booties? A lot!
I am still constantly knitting toddler fingerless gloves to sell, but am sort of in between projects right now. Still SLOWLY making progress on the star baby blanket, my October deadline came and went,oops ;).
I just finished reading A Knitter's Home Companion by Michelle Edwards. I checked it out from the library and finished it the same day. It is a quick read full of touching essays, recipes(mostly vegetarian too!) and a few knitting patterns that go along with her stories. I cried after reading almost every essay, it could be the pregnancy hormones to blame, but it is such a sweet book. I highly recommend it, and because of the recipes and patterns it would make a great gift for a knitter to come back to again and again.
I am also reading Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes but making very slow progress. I am however enjoying it very much. I have seen it recommended on many blogs.

Calling all local knitters in Portland...

2011-11-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

I know many knitters are already stressed about all the projects that they have to complete for their friends and family at this time of year. But I know you could whip up a hat or two during the season, perhaps while waiting in long holiday lines(especially at the Post Office, my goodness) for a good cause, right? For someone with a cold head, who would appreciate your knit gifts more than you could imagine. Warm a few hearts as well as heads. Check out this great community project:http://livingearthgatherings.org/hats-scarves/
Practice compassion this Holiday Season, you don't have to give money to help, use your talents to help those in need.
Warmly,
Heidi

The Glow Of Autumn...(finding peace)

2011-11-14T06:20:00.000-08:00

Handmade for the Holidays Directory...

2011-11-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

I though it would be nice if fellow Bloggers who are also Crafters and Artist could come together and help promote each other for the Holiday gift giving season that is upon us(already?!).
Below is a list of shops offering a variety of handmade gifts. Please feel free to add this button to your blogs sidebar and If you would like to be added to our handmade gift makers directory please just send me an e-mail with a link to your shop and your name and e-mail, you can also
include a short description of your work. Thanks so much and I hope to hear from you so our list of sellers can grow and grow. Please pass on word, help save handmade and support fellow artists!

The Handmade Holiday Directory:

I am Heidi, I sell whimsical clothing, dragon costumes and unique accessories for children at Humble Luna.

Taryn from Mama Gone Green makes sustainably designed creations for babies and children you can find her shop at Green Mama Design.

MamaWestWind from Chocolate Eyes makes beautiful Waldorf Peg Dolls and you can find her creations at Mama West Wind.

mb creates thoughtfully engineered and sustainably hand crafted baby carriers and cloth diapers at Earth Huggy.

Erin from Tiny Twist Creative sells 100% organic or eco-friendly, linoleum carved and pressed t-shirts you can find her creative designs at Dandelion Dream

Eliz.K from Monday Shennanigans sells precious embroidered baby bibs at Knittens.

Tonya from Plain and Joyful Living makes handcrafted toys and rustic home and wedding decor from branches harvested from her homestead, you can find her shop here at The Vermont Branch Company.

Anna sells candles, dolls, hair clips and many more beautiful handcrafted items made by her and her family from their shop Stitchin' Traditions.

Claire from Simply...Life sells tie dye clothing and other handmade fiber arts such as felting, knitting and crochet at Aisling Designs.

Nadja from Patch O'Dirt Farm creates wooden swords and shields, peg dolls, cherry-pit heating pads, potholders, pincushions, greeting cards and more at Frost Lane.

This moment....

2011-11-11T06:17:00.000-08:00

I am joining Soulemama this week for This Moment but I am breaking the rules this week, I need words.
Sometimes crazily hormonal pregnant Mamas need a break so desperately after a week of kids that refused to nap and didn't go to bed until 11:30p.m., that she heads out of the city into the country for a Sunday drive by herself, leaving the husband with the kids (who would rather sit at home anyway) with no idea where were she is going...just to go somewhere and feel a little bit of freedom, for a chance to think, and maybe even be inspired......

And a chance to photograph a curious llama( or is than an alpaca) in a field full of grazing sheep. I wanted to climb the fence and sit in the field with them, maybe with a warm cup of tea and a mindlessly easy knitting project. If this were my field, maybe I wouldn't have had to travel so far to find some peace.

........and sometimes one photo just doesn't cut it.

Some recent knits....

2011-11-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

I have been knitting away. A few smaller projects have managed to be completed while I slowly chug away on my star baby blanket. Not entirely for lack of motivation,I ran out of yarn and I just got a matching skein to continue on with it. I had to search all over the Internet to find one, but I did and it matches...close enough for a variegated blanket anyways.

I knit up a Triceratops from the Prehistoric Pals pattern for Sollie's good friend's birthday. I love the pattern, this is the fourth Dino I have made and they knit up pretty fast. The only part that slows me down is the sewing together of all the tiny knit pieces. The Triceratops has the most pieces(horns), but I think it is super cute. What a clever pattern it is and a clever person who came up with it.

I also knit up another "Easy baby cardigan" from More Last minute Knit Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I love the yarn(Cascade Yarns 220), it was purchased on our Redwood Anniversay trip and holds more of a significant meaning than I expected so I think it is very suitable for our little womb fruit. I have a little extra yarn left over so I am currently working on booties to match the sweater. I think it is gender neutral enough. I am not really fond of overly girly clothing. I have a huge to-do knit list for this baby. Can I wait until after the holidays to knit more baby things? We shall see....probably not ;)

What are you knitting these days?

Do you sell your handmade goods on line? Do you have a blog? Want some free Holiday advertising? Please see my previous post. Thanks!

Searching for crafty folks.....

2011-11-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

Do you have a blog and an Etsy shop or a website where you sell your handmade creations? Would you like some free advertising for the Holiday Season?I am looking for interested people to be part of a Handmade Holiday link. I will link up all interested folks to the button above and we can then all put them on our blogs to help advertise each other for the holidays.

This idea will only work if I can find other interested artists, but who wouldn't like a little free advertising, right?

I will be the one to link the button to your shop and add new folks as they come. All you have to do if interested is send me your e-mail and a link to your shop. Lets support Handmade and help each other this holiday season!
Please leave a comment if you are interested, I am eager to hear from you!

This Moment......

2011-11-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

(I just love finding his self portraits on my camera. He has been doing this since ever since he could push the button and I have saved every one. They will make a great coffee table book some day, always good for a laugh. Oh, my sweet silly boy....)

A moment from our week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

An Autumn Hike.......

2011-11-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

I took way too many dewy spiderweb pictures. They were just so pretty in the morning sun.

We rescued a frosty Wollybear. I picked him up and carried him around in my hand. I thought he was dead by then as it got warmer it started to move, by the time we got to the top of the hill he was able to move his legs.

Great views from every side on this Butte.

More insect friends...
We also saw a beautiful hawk glide slowly over the meadow, hunting rabbits and mice.

If you look very closely you can see the ghost of Mt Hood looming in the distance trying to break through the morning fog.

A rest at the end of a good hike:)

On another note, Becca, MamawestWind from Chocolate Eyes who won my dragon tail giveaway shared a ton of pictures of her little one in his costume. I hope you get many years of imaginative play with the costume, thanks for sharing!

Halloween night!

2011-11-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

The kids had a blast last night. The weather was dry and Solomon willingly put on his superman costume. And best of all both of the kids got to trick -or -treat with their good friends. Solomon and his "Buddyfinn" made quite the team. :) I had a great time watching them. Solomon has been talking about trick or treating with his pumpkin bag since last year. His bag was quite heavy at the end of the night and all of the houses were up a flight of stairs so he got lots of exercise. He plans to go again tonight ;)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:43:00.000-07:00

My pumpkin won first place at our friends pumpkin carving contest. Solomon was thrilled to find out that the prize was an alien Mr. Potato head.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Time to relax.....

2011-10-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

(Picture from a trip with friends to the Sandy River in Oxbow park earlier in the week)

Whew, that was a crazy month of sewing! I am so thankful for all the business I have had this month at HumbleLuna. 20% of my October sales will be donated to Whatchagonnado.org to help families with a child who is battling cancer. Grateful for all the support, and grateful I can make a difference for the organization.
I made over 30 costumes this month for my Etsy shop and have finally finished Solomon's homemade superman costume and helped Sophie alter a costume she found to fit her just right. So glad she didn't need a costume from scratch this year, I don't think I could have pulled it off. It was a last minute rush to get her costume ready for the Harvest festival at her school Friday night.
Solomon chose to be superman several weeks ago and I hunted all over for a plain blue pair of long underwear and a pair of tiny red breifs to go over the top. Then he decided he wanted to be a dragon, than a spider dragon then a bat, then after I showed him his finished costume he said "Ok, Fine mom I will be superman." Not that I was pushing the superman thing, I would prefer to make a more original costume.....this is my passion after all. But after so much sewing I am just happy that they have costumes at all at this point.
Check out the gnome and the turtle from years past.
Right now I am thankful for a little time off from the sewing machine. I am hoping to get out and enjoy this beautiful autumn out in the woods at some point this weekend.
Hope you all have a pleasant Autumn weekend!

2011-10-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

A simple moment from my week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

(can you spot my little gnome?)

The Lavender Farm...

2011-10-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is my last batch of photos from the Farm tour last weekend.The lavender farm was beautiful. It smelled lovely. I am sure it was quite a beautiful sight earlier this summer, fields of purple. I think we will have to visit in the summer next year.

This Moment..

2011-10-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

A simple moment from my week. One that I want to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

The Fruit Loop Tour-Part 2

2011-10-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

My farm posts continue at Draper Girls Country Farm. This was one of the prettiest farms I have seen, with Mt.Hood looming in the distance. We ate a picnic lunch and wandered around for a while. I didn't want to leave, it just felt right being there.

How can you beat a view like this? It is so much bigger than the camera can capture. The low clouds burned off just in time for us to get a magnificent view. Worth the weeks of waiting for good weekend weather.

I bet she helps with the fertilizer..

Isn't this a beautiful pumpkin?

And a giant tree swing to boot...

Even a little brother, who is not a swing person, had to give it a try.

The apple orchards.

Giant Hollyhocks, my favorite flower. I dream of a house with Hollyhocks towering in the yard. I swear they were about 15 feet high. The one Hollyhock plant I grew this year in my yard was about 2 feet high. Maybe I should get a pig.......

Such a beautiful place! I can't wait to visit again.

The Fruit Loop Tour (part one: a new patch)

2011-10-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday my family and I took a day trip along the Fruit Loop Tour near Mt Hood. I had been waiting weeks for good sunny weather with clear skies, if we were going to be that close to the mountain, I wanted to be able to see it(and take a billion pictures of it). The weather was warm sunny and beautiful and it couldn't have been nicer weather for a scenic drive and visits to several farms in Hood River County.
I took many many photos and would love to share as many as possible so I am just going to break my posts down into the different farms that we visited. Our first stop was the pumpkin patch at Rasmussen Farms. It was fun and kind of a relief not to have to take the bumpy hay ride we usually endure to get to our old trusty patch, and it was much less crowed with the city being much farther away, even on a Sunday.

Pumpkin Patch Hat

2011-10-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I had the urge to knit Solomon a hat for visiting the pumpkin patch this year. Pumpkin hats are super cute, but I wanted him to have a hat that he could wear all winter and not look like he is wearing a Halloween hat in January. So I made up this little pointy hat in stripes of pumpkin colors. It only took me a few hours one night to knit it up, simple and fast. I think he can get away with wearing it all year, it matches his winter fleece. But it sure looked cute at the Pumpkin Patch!

Brown thumb......

2011-10-15T15:11:00.001-07:00

I have seen so many beautiful harvest pictures out in blog land. I though I would share mine, not to impress you with all of its glory and abundance, but rather for a good laugh.
This would be an impressive harvest if I was a faerie, but sadly I am not. I had good intentions when I planted my garden this spring and early summer and I did my best to make sure it was watered and loved during the driest days of summer and taken care of by others when I was too sick to get out of bed at the begging of this pregnancy.
I am a horrible gardener, it is true. The top picture is our cucumbers, the strangest shaped things I have ever seen resembling weird tiny gourds. And the carrots would have been perfect if my family and I were 6 inches tall, the largest carrot we produced was thumb sized, the rest were the teeniest carrots one could ever imagine...like baby faerie sized.
While the carrots were growing, the tops that stuck out were large and impressive suggesting that a normal sized carrot was indeed growing underneath the earth, but as you grabbed to pull up these chubby orange beauties you would discover that they were only an inch long.....what a tease.
I am pretty good at growing weird tiny fruits and vegetables I guess...check out our strawberries from a few years ago.
It is still fun to try and I am not going to give up yet. I would love to get into canning and putting food by in the future. I have got a long way to go before that happens. It's okay to laugh, I won't be offended. These things take time.

Fall Kite Festival....

2011-10-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Just going to drown my blog in photos from the Fall Kite Festival at the ocean from this past weekend. I packed up the car, prepared for rain, but was completely thrilled to learn that it was sunny and warm at the beach. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the drive as much as the time spent at the beach. I can't seem to get enough pictures of the Kite Festival..lol. I love the mama and baby whale kites, they were massive and my pictures don't really show how huge they were. There was a lot to look at, but I noticed my kids spent most of the time ignoring the kites and digging in the sand. Oh well. It was nice to have Papa join us this year as he missed every other year when he was working.

And the winner is.......

2011-10-10T14:02:00.001-07:00

MamaWestWind is the winner if the dragon tail giveaway. Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who participated. I plan to have several more Giveaways during the holiday season, I think the next giveaway will be for some cozy fleece pants or a pair of fingerless mittens.
Don't forget 20% of my sales this month will be donated to whatchagonnado.org to help families of children that are battling cancer. Support handmade and a wonderful organization at the same time!

This Moment....

2011-10-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

A simple beautiful moment from our week, inspired by Soulemama.
Don't forget to stop by my GIVEAWAY for a chance to win a dragon tail costume just in time for Halloween!

October Giveaway!

2011-10-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Why not welcome my favorite month of the year with a giveaway?
Having a shop that focuses mainly on children's costumes, this is my super busy time of the year. I have been spending the last few days glued to the sewing machine for most of my waking hours trying to build up my inventory for the coming holiday season. So why not share some of the dragon tail love with my blog friends?
For the giveaway I am offering a green dragon tail costume with your choice of polka dot color. I will ship the costume before Halloween just in case your little one might want to trick or treat as a dragon. The tail also works as a dinosaur...maybe a crocodile or alligator as well.

There are four possible chances to win:
1. Simply leave a comment on this post....maybe tell me what your polka dot color preference would be, or what your child is dressing as for Halloween this year:)
2. Favorite my Etsy shop : Humbleluna.etsy.com
3. Follow my blog(if you already go go ahead and leave another comment:)
4. Like HumbleLuna on Facebook :http://www.facebook.com/pages/HumbleLuna/151654328204499

Go ahead and leave a comment for each that you chose to do.

Also 20% of my Etsy sales this month are going to a great cause, whatchagonnado.org, an organization that helps families with a child battling cancer. Please click the link in my sidebar for more information. What a great way to help other families and get a cute costume at the same time!
I will keep the Giveaway open until October 10th. Please make sure there is a link to you or e-mail address with your comment so I can contact you if you win:)

Happy October Friends, are you planning your Halloween costumes yet?

This Moment....

2011-09-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

I think this is my favorite photo this year:)

A simple beautiful moment from our week to cherish and remember.
Following along with Soulemama.

Happy Birthday Sweet Ben!

2011-09-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

I am so very thankful for my wonderful husband. He is my best friend and a loving Papa to our children. He is a hard worker and is very patient. He has been so helpful during this difficult pregnancy, he never complained when he took on my half of the load as well as his own. I love him so.
He isn't a big Birthday guy, he doesn't want to make a big deal out of his Birthday or to do anything out of the ordinary. But it is a little hard for me cause I love making Birthdays special for the people I love. My kids Birthdays are my favorite days of the year and I love making a big deal out of it.
But Ben is happy with a homemade chocolate cherry cake(that I make every year) and a hand knit hat, usually blue, his favorite color. He wears his handmade hat like his wedding ring as soon as he gets it and doesn't take it off until he loses it or the next summer comes along. See, he likes to wear my handmade hats, I am so lucky:)
This year I searched the Flock and Fiber Festival(see previous post) for the perfect yarn but everything in his color was super itchy and not good for a hat. So after being at the festival all morning I visited a Portland yarn shop in our neighborhood and found the perfect most luciouse yarn, very soft and a gorgeous blue. It is called Road to China and is made from camel,baby alpaca, cashmere, and silk. A real treat to knit with and I even have enough left over to make a pair of newborn socks:) But I am sure Ben could care less about the fancy yarn and would be perfectly happy with cheap oily acrylic yarn, but I've got to sneak the special treatment somehow, he deserves it:)

(hat pattern is the"Regular Guy Beanie" by Chuck Wright)
I am sure the hat will look a lot better on Ben, but I haven't given to him yet;)

Flock and Fiber Festival....

2011-09-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Check out the smile on the guy in the middle:)

Imagine the sock drawer this yarn could create..

slightly creepy.....

This is my third year attending the Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby,Oregon, but the first year I was able to go alone with friends without bringing the kids along. I could hardly believe my luck as I hardly ever go anywhere without one of my kids along.I felt a little guilty about visiting the animals without them, but it was so nice to be able to look at everything without being rushed or worrying about sticky fingers on hand spun yarns:) It was so great to have a little mama time.
The weather was beautiful and I brought home some beautiful wool roving for a future project.

This moment...

2011-09-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

A single photo.A moment from our week to savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Twining trees....

2011-09-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a finished knitted project I made earlier in the summer. Ben and I went to the Redwoods to celebrate our 10th anniversary this year. Afterward I made this tree wall hanging to remember out trip (this was before I found our about our little souvenir coming in February:)
I found the pattern on Ravelry and noticed that several other people used this as wedding gifts making blankets and pillows. It is pretty symbolic of two lives becoming one, and fit perfect with our Redwood tree theme. I thought the pillows were really cool and may make them in the future but I decided just to make a single panel and weaved it over a branch to hang it on the wall above our bed. It was my first time reading a pattern chart, I did okay but made a few mistakes, it was easy to lose track of where I was, especially when knitting around children.
The yarn is Patons wool and much darker brown than the photos show.

This moment...

2011-09-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Joining with Soulemama for this moment. A simple moment from our week to savor and remember.

Knit Along...

2011-09-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Since this was both a productive reading and knitting week I though I would join in with Ginny for the knit along. I am still working on my star afghan baby blanket and think it might turn into my big slow going project for this fall as I work on smaller knitting projects from time to time. My goal is to finish it completely by the end of October. We will see though. You all can hold me accountable and remind me come Halloween time how it's going;)
I also knit a few washcloths from a fun pattern I found on Ravelry. I got on a deep cleaning kick and got the urge to knit up half a dozen or so washcloths for the kitchen to replace the nasty old raggy ones we have now. Plus I have a ton of cotton yarn in my stash.
I also started knitting fingerless mittens for toddlers to sell on my Etsy shop and in local childrens stores. They did so well last year I knit over 60 pairs and sold every one. I had planned to start knitting them in July so I would be stocked up for fall/winter, but well.....you know how that goes.
I am currently on the last chapter of a book I found at a thrift store called Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. I think it is very well written and I have had a hard time putting it down. Honestly I was drawn to it because I liked the cover picture, but it was good :)

September swimming ....

2011-09-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

My first time swimming this summer was this past weekend. September has been hot so far, like hottest temperatures of the year. I am thankful for the chance to jump in a river, at least once before the summer ends. I am trying to get the summer experience where I can so I don't feel too shocked this fall when I realize it's already gone, and I missed it. So I feel good old mother nature is taking pity on my situation and giving me another chance now that I have strong days where I can get out and enjoy it. For that I am very thankful.
I don't think I have ever swam in September before, like there was some kind of unwritten rule that once the school year started swimming was no longer an option. But this year I decided that is quite silly, especially when it is in the upper 90's and we live in an upstairs apartment with one fan.
Now I can fully welcome the fall, my favorite time of year and jump into the rivers as long as I can get away with it. :)

The Street Fair..

2011-09-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

We look forward every year to having a little fun in September at the Belmont Street Fair. This year it was super hot and I wasn't feeling well most of the day so we headed to the fair during the late afternoon, unfortunately the hottest part of the day.

The year the beloved red trolly and banjo player that usually drive up and down the street were replaced by an air conditioned eco-bus. Not the same, but hey, a free air conditioned ride to the fair?
This sick pregnant mama will take it!

Ah, now that feels good!

Don't be fooled that was mama's shaved ice, but it was big enough to share.

I am pretty sure they had fun.

It's hot work.....

2011-09-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

blackberry pickin', that is...

This moment....

2011-09-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

(First day of 5th grade, with a creepy fake smile.)

A moment from our week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Finding our Rhythm...

2011-09-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

I always think of September as a fresh start. I think it is from memories from childhood of the school year starting. But for me September feels more like the beginning of a new year than January does. A chance to start fresh. After a very weird summer with unexpected illness,cancelled vacations, too much t.v. , and way too much indoor time we have lost all sense of daily rhythm and routine. I am looking forward to building a better rhythm for our family now. Papa was overloaded with working all day and then coming home to have to feed and help with the kids while I was too sick to take care of it myself.Papa also has his own way of doing things that changed our old routine drastically. Now he is laid off from work and we have a lot of time together, but it seems like each of us is getting less accomplished during the days because of this.
Sophie started school today and it feel like a good time for all of us to get the rhythm back into our days. Time to end the chaos of this past summer and find some peace again.
I spent Labor Day weekend deep cleaning and organizing our apartment. I spent a day on each room and still have several to go but it feels so good to start fresh and start to get rid of the clutter that I feel I have been drowning in in the past months. Seriously it got so bad I was afraid the producers from the t.v. show Hoarders was going to come knocking on my door.
Here's to fresh starts whenever we find them.....

One last hurrah......

2011-09-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before I won a trip to the Coast for our family and we had one last hurrah before the school year starts this Tuesday. I didn't have much of a summer at all this year due to being sick in bed. I am thankful for the early summer Redwood trip we took in early June but that seems like it was ages ago. Especially after watching summer pass by out my window for two months. But now that I feel more like a normal pregnant human I am wanting to savor every last warm sunny day we have. We do have a few more day trips planned for the weekends, but it was nice to be well enough to use the trip we won before summer was over.

We drove down the coast the first day and stopped along the beach to camp for a night. Sollie had been talking about sleeping in the tent with a flashlight and roasting marshmallows all summer, I am so glad we were able to make that happen for him. Due to my illness he missed out on a lot of summer fun too and had way to much indoor time. I was glad it was only one night. I forgot to bring a pad and the ground was hard. I sleep on my stomach and can still get away with it if I have a bed to sink my belly into. But my baby bump didn't sink into the earth very well. I wish we could just put our tents up right on the beach, sand would be great padding. But it was lovely falling asleep to the sound of the Ocean and after I did I had a wonderful dream that I was walking in a forest chatting with Ram Das. I woke up feeling very thankful, and the chorus of birds and chipmunks made it even better.

The mornings started off cool and foggy and we had fun playing in the Dunes near Florence, Oregon.

Even Papa got in on the action..

Then we walked around the town and took touristy pictures....

Then the sunshine broke through and we enjoyed some cool windy beach time......

Beach belly....

We found a creek that emptied into the ocean with some huge driftwood logs . Natures own sculpture garden.

Now that was a big driftwood log. I kinda wanted to haul it back home and put it in the garden, but it was bigger than my yard anyway.

I even got a few moments on my own during the last night to knit out on the deck and watch the sun set.

Ahhh...

Goodbye Summer......

This Moment....

2011-09-02T09:06:00.001-07:00

(He was waiting for this moment all summer!)

A moment from our week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Sandboarding adventure....

2011-09-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

I won an Oregon coast vacation package that included sandboard rentals for the Oregon Dunes recreational Area that is 40 miles long along the Oregon Coast. Sandboarding is pretty much like snowboarding on sand. Since summer is nearly over with Sophie starting school next week and me feeling a bit better, we decided to use our vacation while the summer sun was still shining.
I left the sandboarding to Papa and Sophie since I didn't think at 4months pregnant that would be the best idea for me. I did however climb around on the dunes and it was quite exhausting, the pictures don't really show how huge the dunes are, the last photo of Sollie climbing up gives you the idea though. Everyone was pretty pooped out after climbing up the dunes all afternoon. Sollie got in on the action too riding the board like a sled with Sophie. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to coming back not pregnant so I can give it a try too.

By the rivers side......

2011-08-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

This moment...

2011-08-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

A single photo,A moment from our week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Yarn Along

2011-08-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

Since I have been well enough to read and knit the past few days I thought I would join in on this weeks Yarn Along hosted By Ginny at Small Things.
I could stand it no longer I needed a good book. So I gave in and went to a local bookstore to get a copy of The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I love it already and read the first five chapters before falling asleep.
The knitting project I am working on is the "Star Afghan" by Sandra Daignault from the book Knitter's at Home. I don't know if it is pregnancy brain or what but it took me a long time to figure out how to get this blanket started. For some reason I could not grasp the circle cast on, and wasn't ending up with the right number of stitches at the beginning of the pattern. Finally I You Tubed "circle cast- on" and watched the video about 50 times and then finally got cast on, sheesh. Then when I didn't get the right number of stitches I just kept going anyway intuitively and I soon caught back up to the pattern. Now I am finally on track, the pattern is easy to remember and it is a pretty fun knit. But it takes a lot of concentration(not my strong point a.t.m.) to remember where I am at in the pattern and the rows are getting longer and longer. Also I am not sure of my yarn choice for this project. I am thinking maybe a softer yarn would have been better since I was intending this to be a baby blanket. Maybe I will make another. Sounds nuts? maybe, but if you peek on Ravelry there are several "Star Afghans" by the same knitters. Gotta hold on when you find a good thing:)

Felt baby ball...

2011-08-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share the felt baby ball I made from The Children's Year book by Cooper, Fynes-Clinton and Rowling. This was part of the Craftalong for June, I believe. It came to mind when I was thinking of a gift to make my dear friend's daughter for her first birthday. It was fun to make and I plan to make more. Both of my kids want one now too:)

This Moment...

2011-08-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

A simple precious moment from my week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Thankful....

2011-08-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for feeling well enough to eat blueberries out in the sun.
I am thankful that I was well enough yesterday to sit by a river for a while.
I am thankful that I am the one who has been ill and not my children.
I am thankful that one night last week I felt well enough to eat an actual meal.
I am thankful that I got to "see" a healthy, dancing baby via ultrasound today.
I am thankful that my body grew a healthy baby despite my severe sickness this first trimester.
I am thankful there was only one baby in there .Don't get me wrong, twins are a wonderful blessing but more than we could provide for currently.
I am thankful that after weeks of feeling helpless, that things are finally improving and I am slowly getting better. That there is a tiny little person thriving and growing and knowing that makes everything I have been through during this difficult first trimester worth it.
After all, I would do anything for my kids, even one I haven't met yet:)

A bit of fresh air...

2011-08-05T12:54:00.001-07:00

Since I have been house bound for the last month I really need to get out once in a while in order to keep myself from going completely insane. It is very hard to watch the sunny days go by out the window, as I know the sun will soon be gone and months of rain will take it's place. Summer is brief and precious and it has been hard not to be able to enjoy it. I have made a new goal to get outside everyday even if it means just sitting in a lawn chair in the sun. I am hoping to build that up to a small walk around the block every day until I can get my strength back. I noticed that the muscles in my legs have withered away, especially in my calves and this has really shocked me..and scared me a little too. The difficulty of this past month has really taken a toll on my body. I went from hiking up the mountain every day to not leaving my home for weeks and not able to do much more than sit with my feet up. I have lost a lot of weight too.

I was supposed to have an ultrasound a few weeks ago but it got bumped up to next week. I was really stressed about that because I want to see that everything is okay with the babe despite my Hyperemesis.
The chances of getting Hyperemesis is greater for mamas who are carrying more than one baby and women who are having a molar pregnancy. I really just want to know what is going on. I hope there is a healthy babe in there and that I haven't suffered all these weeks for nothing, that would be really hard to say the least. My only problem now is to wonder how I am going to hold fluids down long enough to get an ultrasound? I am still not able to take large drinks of water without losing it right away, and I think you need to drink like 20 oz of fluid or more to get a clear picture.
Alright, enough about my freakish medical problems....
What could be a better pick me up than a drive in the country and a stop to see our favorite goat? On Ben's day off we drove to Sauvie Island which is North West of Portland. It was a beautiful day and it was good to get out of the city and roll the car windows down. I luckily didn't get sick in the car although I did have my trusty blue bucket along. We stopped at one of our favorite farms and visited Victor the goat and Lucy the llama along with a few other barn friends.

Sollie spotted" another bunny" in the barn, which turned out to be a little mouse in a hay stack. That Sollie's got a good eye I tell ya, he always notices things we don't see. When we were on our trip to the Redwoods earlier this summer he would notice banana slugs in the ferns as I hiked past with him riding in the backpack. And I am a pretty fast downhill hiker,especially with extra weight behind me, but he would yell "Mama stop go back, I saw a slug" and we would stop and go back and sure enough there would be one hidden a way. To the rest of us it was just a blur.

It was nice to get out of the house, if just for a little while. I am really hoping to have a few good days in August so I can enjoy the last moments of summer. In the past few weeks I have become quite the Netflix junky. I am running out of good movies in my queue, so if you read this and wouldn't mind giving me a few good movie suggestions, this sick mama sure would appreciate it.

Weak as a rag doll, pale as the moon...

2011-07-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

I have never been good at planning, at least not good at planning the major life changing moments in my life, such as becoming a Mama at 19 years old. Even after desperately wanting a baby for years while I was in art school,we were again surprised with the pregnancy of our second child, a very happy much wanted surprise.

I can tell you one thing for sure. I did not plan on spending the entire month of July, housebound, and very sick. I have been suffering from severe nausea and vomiting called Hyperemesis Gravidarum and am pregnant with our 3rd child.....surprise again!

With both of my previous pregnancies I had pretty intense morning sickness, I would throw up at least once a day starting around my 6th week and lasting until the end of the forth month. But it was manageable, I was able to function perfectly well in between the trips to the bathroom.

This time has been very different.

It took a few weeks longer for the nausea and vomiting to hit this time, but when it did, it hit me HARD. After waking up of the 4th morning of not keeping food or water down, I was so dehydrated that I was hallucinating. My vision was really crazy and I couldn't focus on Sollies face when he was standing right in front of me. I was really worried so I called Ben to come home from work. I ended up going to the ER for fluids.

This was all at the beginning of the Month and I am still not well. I am able to eat a bit here and there but am weak as a rag doll and pale as the moon. Normal things like helping my toddler get dressed and brushing my hair have become exhausting tasks. Preparing food is very difficult. As a mama it is impossible to avoid these things. Ben is a great help when he gets home from work,he takes Sollie out for walks and prepares dinner for him. I feel so bad for Sollie. I want to be able to take him to the park and play with him out in the yard, I want to be healthy.

Our daughter has been visiting her Grandparents in Wisconsin since before I started getting sick. We miss her a lot, but I am glad she is having lots of fun out there, as it would not be fun at all for her to be stuck at home with a sick mama.

Sollie and I were supposed to fly out to Wisconsin to meet her last week, but I was way to sick to travel so I had to cancel the trip. It was so sad. I haven't seen my brothers in a few years and I really wanted Sollie to be able to play with his cousin for the first time. It has really been a let down. We also had to miss the much loved Oregon Country Fair this year and had to cancel a trip that Ben and I were planning for just the two of us. I feel like I am watching the summer pass me by. Hearing happy people outside enjoying life has been hard for me too. I honestly really enjoyed the past few rainy days we have had because I felt like for once I wasn't missing out on anything.

I have been feeling really isolated. It is hard to wake up feeling excited about the day when each day is a struggle. It is easy to be depressed when you don't have the energy to do the things you love to do. I haven't even been able to knit.

Hyperemesis is really a rare condition occurring in only 2% of pregnancies. It goes way beyond the normal nausea and morning sickness. The only way I think I could compare it to would be food poisoning. I feel like I have had food poisoning for the past 20 days. I have done some research to find support from other people who have suffered with this condition. But my research has been pretty discouraging. Some women are so ill they chose to terminate much wanted pregnancies in order to recover from their illness. This makes my heart so incredibly sad for those women. They have been so desperate for relief that they feel they had no other choice. Pregnancy shouldn't be like that. Doctors often tell them there is nothing they can do to help, or prescribe drugs that are given to cancer patients to fight nausea that rarely take the edge off and the effects of these drugs on the baby is unknown. Scary! Some women are sick the entire 9 months that they carry their babies. Some are bed ridden and need a constant IV drip of medicine just to get through the day. One mama tore a hole in her esophagus from vomiting 70 times a day.

It has been very difficult for me but many women have suffered much worse with H.G., and even died.

I am hoping that I well get well soon. My morning sickness was gone by 16 weeks for my last two pregnancies but I am still in the first trimester and I have quite a ways to go before then.

I am hoping people will educate themselves on Hyperemesis.(please note the link in beginning of post). It could happen to your partner or a friend or daughter, and support from friends and family is so very crucial. Please don't tell them to eat crackers and drink ginger ale, believe me we have tried, it goes way beyond that.

If you or anyone you know has been through H.G. I would love to hear your stories and suggestions. I am hoping to get my strength back to return to this space more often in the near future.

I hope your summer is a healthy one!

This Moment...

2011-07-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

Joining Soulemama today for this moment.

A moment from our week to cherish and remember.

This Moment...

2011-07-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Joining Soulemama today for this moment.

A simple beautiful moment from our week to cherish and remember.

Booby prize and a peacock....

2011-06-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

A few months ago a local Portland yarn store called Twisted had a little contest to name their Blue Footed Booby that was knit from a pattern called "Feathers" By Knitting at Knoon. I wrote in with the name suggestion of "Indigo Montoya" inspired by Inigo Montoya from the movie Princess Bride. I got an e-mail a few weeks ago that they voted and my name won by a landslide. I won a copy of the pattern "Feathers" along with a cute crocheted cake key chain by Lantern Moon.

One of the patterns in "feathers" was a peacock. When we first moved to Portland back in 2003 I was talking to my Dad on the phone telling him all about the city and how we had roses in our yard in January when a giant bird head peeked into the window of our upstairs apartment where I was sitting and nearly gave me a heart attack. My next words were "Dad, there is a peacock on my roof!" I think he thought I moved to some tropical paradise which it kind of was compared to near Buffalo New York where Ben,Sophie and I were moving from and Wisconsin where I grew up as a child. The Peacock lived on our roof for about a week. I have no idea where he came from or who he belonged to. I thought since so many Portland people had chickens running around in their yards that Peacocks were just part of the norm too. Keep Portland Weird!
So I just had to knit one. The pattern was a bit finicky and I ripped the body out completely twice due to funkiness in the neck. Third times a charm or, well , good enough at least.

Sanctuary....

2011-06-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Walking the Labyrinth...

2011-06-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Walk and meditate? When you are a kid, no way...run and giggle is more like it.

This Moment....

2011-06-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

A moment from our week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Ice cube painting....

2011-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Today at the little afternoon arts and crafts class that I teach every Wednesday we painted with ice cubes and it was tons of fun. I just used a little food coloring and water and froze it in an ice cube tray and added Popsicle stick halves for gripping. They worked best during the first half hour when they were still pretty frozen but the colors dulled quite a bit as they melted. It was still a ton of fun. A great summer craft for sure!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

(Good reason to eat and ice cream cake ;)..)
Happy Father's Day to all the Papas out there!

A little bit crazy these days....

2011-06-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

"Self portrait" by Solomon ( I love finding pictures he has taken:)

Sorry I have been kind of M.I.A. over here. Things have been so busy with the last few days of school and now summer vacation is in full swing. Our main laptop bit the dust yesterday when Sollie threw a wooden block at the screen and it turned into a big black spiderweb....ouch.

So my connection to the internet is very limited.

Sophie is headed off for a vacation to the other side of the country to visit her grandparents in a few days. I have never been away from her for more than a night so we will see how she does and how mama does. I am sure she will have a ton of fun with two sets of grandparents to spoil her rotten. She might not want to come home....

Small beauties...

2011-06-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Another roadside attraction.......

2011-06-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

This makes me sad, poor tree. But alas I am a hypocrite since I paid 5 bucks to drive through it. How is this tree healthy with a giant hole chainsawed through it?

And across the road...

Emus!
I was reading the brochure for the tree and thought it said "Come see our Emus(rhymes with male body part)" , and I was like "Ben what is an Emus?" Duh.

We cant forget these guys...

Paul and Babe. These guys were huge. Notice the little girl on his shoe. When we got there he was having a conversation with her. It was cute. Sophie was super shy and made us promise that we wouldn't make her talk to him. Imagine having that guys job...shouting hi to all the tourists and talking to little kids all day.

This picture pretty much sums up the nastiness of this bathroom.
Getting sick of our vacation photos yet?

Animal friends.....by land and by sea

2011-06-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Can you spot the Sea Lions?

Here is a closer look...

Yes this is an Emu (more on that later).

We saw two large herds of Elk. Both times they were standing in the middle of the road. The first batch was on a back road to a coastal hiking trail and the second herd with huge males was standing in the middle of Hwy 101 right beyond a sharp turn. I pulled over and got a few blurry shots.

I am relieved we saw no bears. I love bears but never want to cross paths with one while hiking with my children.

Most Beautiful Pacific....

2011-06-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

You didn't really think I wasn't going to overload my blog with our trip photos did you? Well, In fact I took so many I had to break them up into categories. Yes, I am a picture junky. When I was in High School I dreamed of becoming a photographer for National Geographic. It is so beautiful on the West Coast it is easy to take great pictures. The first four photographs are near Crescent City, California, after that the photos are near Bandon, Oregon.

Under Giants...

2011-06-05T21:06:00.001-07:00

We just spent a few days down in California to visit the Redwoods for our 10th Anniversary. This trail is called the Damnation Creek trail and took us through majestic Redwood groves down to the Ocean. The trail was steep and fun going down but going up was another matter. It is a 4 mile round trip hike and the last 1. 4 miles drops 1,000 feet from the forest to the Ocean. I carried Sollie up in the backpack most of the way back up and man that was a workout. It was a beautiful hike and I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in the Del Norte Coast Redwoods.

2011-05-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

We took a little hike in the woods.....

It was VERY green....

And a little purple...

We spotted Faerie homes....

And we made a few friends...

And posed for a few silly pictures......

I hope you don't mind the photo overload. We are planning a trip down to the Redwoods soon for our 10th wedding anniversary, I am sure I will take a bazillion photos to share. I have been dreaming of visiting the Redwoods since I was very young. We have lived in Oregon for 9 years and haven't made it down to California yet or discovered much of southern Oregon.
One part of our trip will take us into a fern canyon were they filmed Jurassic Park 2....see that will be a hundred photos alone....prepare yourselves ;)

The Giveaway has ended...

2011-05-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

I like to do things the old-fashioned(hard) way so I drew the name from a hat

And the winner is.....

*****The Monkey's Mama*****
Yay, and congratulations Lauren, I hope your little one will love the tail.
Thanks so much to everyone who entered this Giveaway.
If you didn't win this time, don't worry I have another Giveaway planned for the very near future.

A Giveaway Day!

2011-05-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

I am happy to be part of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway this year.
Here is your chance to win a Dragon tail costume from my Etsy shop,
HumbleLuna.

All you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment below sharing what your favorite costume from childhood was. ( Due to shipping costs contest only open to residents of the United States).
If you sign up to follow my blog I will add you a second time into the drawing.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck.
I will draw the winners name randomly, the good old fashioned way.
****The Giveaway ends at midnight on May 25th****

This Moment...

2011-05-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

A moment from our week to cherish and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

I also wanted to share our moment from last week when blogger wasn't working......

Crafting update and a future Giveaway!

2011-05-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am getting pretty behind in sharing the crafty stuff that I have been working on lately.
I knit my nephew Riley a T-Rex for his 2nd Birthday. I used this pattern before to make Solomon's Birthday Dinosaurs a while back. I decided to omit the scary teeth, they didn't look right no matter how many times I tried, this is a friendly T-Rex.

Also the craft- along I am part of made the Easter Garden on page 25 of The Children's Year by Cooper,Fynes-Clinton and Rowling for the April craft. We planted this a week before Easter, but I am just getting to sharing mine now as it took quite a long time to sprout. We planted cat grass in ours and our cats have been enjoying it.

I have also added several pairs of light weight cotton pants in several sizes in fun prints to my Etsy shop for summer and I will be adding some skirts very soon.

Come Back on Monday for a Giveaway! I will be giving away a handmade item from my shop as part of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. This will be a fun day, be sure to check out the link in my side bar. There will be a link on the Sew mama sew blog to several handmade giveaways! Good Luck everyone! I am hoping to get in on the action too!

Memories in Lilacs.....

2011-05-16T14:11:00.001-07:00

When I was a a young child growing up in Wisconsin and elderly woman named Esther lived next door to my family. Esther had a sister named Stella . I can't remember anymore if they lived together or not, but they were always together in my memory. They would often invite me inside their home and we would play my favorite game, hide and seek. I always hid in the same spot under Esther's bed and they would always pretend they couldn't find me although they knew very well where I was. They would let me try on their perfume and gave me tiny lipstick samples to take home with me. They always had cookies and Popsicles to share with me before I would return home. It didn't matter to me then that they were several decades older then me, they were my dear friends, honorary grandmothers.
They lived alongside and alley way that was separated from the house by a small white fence and an amazing row of lilac bushes.They were enormous to me then, more like trees than bushes, with gnarly trunks that were irresistible to climb. I climbed them all the time, although I don't remember if Esther or Stella minded. The lilac bushes were spectacular there must have been five or six all in a row all with different personalities. Each bush had lilacs of a different color ranging from dark purple to lavender to white and and all the colors of purple you can image in between. They smelled so sweet it almost made your eyes water.
Esther and Stella were only our neighbors for a short time of my childhood. Ester got sick and passed away and Stella moved into a nursing home. I was too young to know the details and it is all a blur in my mind which is for the best because all the memories I have of them are good. My sweet friends.
Lilacs are the flower of my childhood.
Now whenever I walk past a Lilac bush and smell their wild perfume, I am eight years old again in my private grove,perched on a knobby branch picking lilacs for my mama. Without a care in the world.
Someday when my family settles down in a home of our own, I am going to plant two lilac bushes in our yard, and I will name then affectionately and with love, Esther and Stella.

illustration sunday....

2011-05-15T13:37:00.001-07:00

I painted this my last semester of art school. It was for an assignment to create and anti-depression poster. I rummaged through my old portfolio this week trying to find this painting because it very much applies to my life right now. I am been feeling kind of blue lately and have been working hard to get myself back on track. I have been exercising and hiking as much as I can and have been listening to tons of happy African(Mali) music, trying to break out of it.
I think a lot of it is because I was hoping to visit my family in Wisconsin this summer with my husband and my children. Until I looked at how much it was going to cost us for the flight alone and it is literally twice as much as it would cost for us to go to Hawaii. So I am trying to not feel sad about that, although I do. I often feel like a pioneer,I left my home and family to go West and although I didn't plan on never returning home, it is so hard for us, who live simply without excess money to make is back home to visit. It costs about the same as three months rent!
I wonder how long it would take in a hot air balloon? ;)

Mother's Day outing....

2011-05-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

I bet you can't guess what I did on Mother's Day.....

Just joking, I am so darn predictable these days. A real rock hunting junky.

But what I love the most about it is that it gets me out of the city for a while and it is so meditative, and best of all it is free.

(I did not make the rock sculptures, they have been showing up here for years. I guess someone else loves this spot as much as I do. Maybe we are kindred spirits?)

The kids had a lot of fun playing together, building a house out of branches. This was so refreshing for me to see. There is quite an age gap between them and it is usually challenging for them to get along without teasing(the elder) and shrieking(the younger).

The storms even cleared up right after we got there. Leaving the rocks shiny and clean, perfect for finding treasures. Giving me a few hours of beautiful sunshine. It was a really fun day.
And it took my mind off of my swollen impacted wisdom tooth for the day, ouch is all I have to say about that. OUch :(

Illustration Sunday.... Guest artists

2011-05-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Since it is Mother's Day I though I would share the beautiful art work that I received as gifts this year from my two favorite kids.

*****Happy Mother's Day !!*****

This Moment...

2011-05-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

My Speedy Gonzalez....

A moment from our week to savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.