Black & white walk, birthday, soup, sushi, & the dentist

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Obviously this photo has nothing to do with this post. It is just another example of what I did in Picnik.

Today's post is fairly black & white though - Jacob & I walked to his doctor's office & to the grocery store today. The trees looked black without leaves & there is still some white snow on the ground.

At the doctor's office we picked up a form that is needed for day care - I doubt that Jacob understood me telling him that he would not be getting any shots today - but we chatted getting shots anyway.

At the grocery store, I picked up some cake mix for my birthday cake. (A wagers on whether or not my husband will make the cake?)

Oh well, I'm off to start some pea soup - not my ideal birthday dinner, but the weather is fairly soupy, so I'll make soup. (I chopped the vegetables a couple days ago while I chopped them for a vegetable beef soup. So today, the stove will do the hard part.)

I almost forgot - for my birthday tomorrow, I get to go to the dentist! YAY! The last time I went to the dentist before getting pregnant, I treated myself to sushi afterwards - not a good idea. The seaweed salad got stuck in my newly cleaned teeth...

Does anyone else give themselves a special treat after visiting the dentist? (Not that it is a horrible experience for me, but it is one that I'd rather not endure. I really can do without the lecture! - Especially when these days I am really happy to get my teeth brushed let alone flossed.)

Toes!

Toes!
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I'm a toe woman! When Jacob is nursing, or just resting (Yay he does not have to be attached!) I love to rub, touch, play with his feet & toes! I got this shot during tummy time!

Am I the only toe woman? (I have a thing for cat toes too!)

Look who's playing!

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I caught "Ms. I'm to big to play" playing with the ribbon on my robe!

This girl is so funny, she will only play once in a great while & then it is for like 2 swats of the ball.

When I try to play with her, the string has to be within her reach or she won't bother. (Am I Bovvered? Anyone recognize that cultural reference?) So this was quite a moment to see her playing like a kitten.

yellow day

yellow day
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

When I realized that Jacob was in a yellow dressing gown on a yellow sheet with a yellow trimmed bumper, I decided to take out the yellow knit blanket that my mother-in-law made for my husband when he was a baby. She said that this was probably the last thing that she knit.

My MIL is a school teacher, as with any other profession, co-workers have babies. She always crochet a blanket for those baby showers. She also crocheted a layette set for Jacob, but based upon her comments about her hands hurting, she may be getting out of crocheting as well.

To which I say, I am glad that my Pfaff does all of the sewing!

Now I should get off the computer & cut some fabric or at least watch the snow fall.

Has anyone heard of the band "Green Day?" Well, that is where I got the title "Yellow Day." The title lost its luster as I typed - but you have to admit, that sure is a lot of yellow!

Proof

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I now have proof that I should not buy or use any of those fancy quilting software packages. I have spent a good amount of time playing with Picnik - I can't imagine the amount of time that I would use "designing" quilts! O.K. while the baby is still napping, I had better go cut few more fabrics before starting dinner.

sleepy

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

My little sleeping baby.

The only problem with this picture is that you can't move him without waking him... I can sit with a sleeping baby on my chest "for ever." But his daddy had things to do... (This scene played itself out twice yesterday - I took a second picture of this scene with Jacob in his sleepy clothes.)

Unfortunately, my good sleeper is not sleeping so good - I guess it really was "too good too be true" when he was sleeping for 7 hours straight.

We have out 2 month well baby check-up later this morning. (I think there are some shots associated with that appointment. That will definitely hurt me more than him...)

Hey, as an upside, I get to cut some more fabric as soon as I post this entry.

Is it obvious?

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Well it might not be obvious, but my baby joins me in the bathroom while I shower. & he really likes his purple towel. So much so that when we wash the towel if it is not replaced, he gives you a "look." He has also been known to just go in to the bathroom & sits on his purple towel. This was one of those times, so I grabbed the camera to record this bit of cat history. (No, he does not like the cat bath, nor does he like to get wet...)

quilting cat?

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Rhapsody is sitting next to a pile of black & whites that will not make it into my quilt top. BTW My top will be a 10x10 configuration - so you can see that in addition to my having a lot of cat prints, I have a lot of black & whites as well. Understanding that there is a good bit of overlap between the two.

Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

I'm all dressed up & ready to go.
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Squirrel

Squirrel
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Today we had our first snowfall of the season. I guess this squirrel forgot to forage beforehand! He was lucky that the cats were all snuggled up inside, not paying attention to the outside.

This is also Jacob's first snow, but he only got to look at it through the window.

I'm all dressed up & ready to go.

I'm all dressed up & ready to go.
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

On cooking, babies & why I don't quilt so much...

round robin quilt
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

On Cooking

Well it is official, I will not be a candy maker in my next career.

I have been trying to make Saltine Candy (Several recipes found by googling - which adds to the confusion!) & it hasn't been working out very well for me.

Today I had maybe my worst attempt. You see based upon my reading, I figure that my previous failures were related to not cooking the butter & sugar together long enough on the stove top. (you may have heard about caramel burning quickly...) Today I burned the mix - so bad that my smoke alarm went off. So I turned on the vent & poured the mix out - outside! Jacob quit crying when the vent went on....

My second attempt did not burn & it is in the fridge cooling - but the chocolate did not melt & I have a feeling that the sugar is still granular. Edible but not ideal.

FYI It does not help that every recipe is different for this very simple candy! (400 deg for 3 min, 375 deg for 5 to 7 min, etc.!)

On Babies

1. how does a tiny thing generate so much laundry - by spitting up thats how!
2. I know why onsies are so useful... The squirmy baby scootched so much that that he created a "Plumber's Crack" this morning!
3. Street Angel/House Devil - We were out for quite a while yesterday & Jacob was very good! Today in the house, he is crying when the faucet is off... But I am going back to work in a few weeks, so there needs to be a limit or else he will be in for a rude awakening!

On Quilting

That is my completed round robin in the photograph. We had a wonderful experience, 14 months with out major delays! See the ring on the sidebar - to see more (Although you may have to scroll through some of the blogs since the last round was completed more quickly on some than others.) The official mailing day was Jan. 15, so none are late! I think that 13 out of 15 are home already!

My goal today was to press some of my black & white prints... I might reach that goal if the baby naps... He is sitting quietly right now. (He must have read my mind when I typed about the house devil....)

BTW My cat threw up her cat food today - so that is on my plate too!

Quilts for Obama at the Historical Society of Washington DC

Quilts for Obama at the Historical Society of Washington DC
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Jacob & I had a very busy day today!

He went on his first subway ride.

We went to a free quilt show - this was my favorite quilt on display. (More are in my flickr.)
We then walked around that area of DC a bit. (Saw the 6th & I Historic Synagogue, National Building Museum, & the Law Enforcement Memorial.) Photos in my flickr.

Once we got back to the car (The subway car was full at @ 12:30 - I so can not imagine the crowds on Tuesday...) I fed Jacob for what seemed like forever. Funny aside, I drape a receiving blanket over him - just in case... Well today was probably the coldest day so far this winter, so I was wearing a wool sweater over a long sleeved T. I decided to take off the sweater - one less thing to get out of the way of the faucet. An old perve watched me taking off my sweater - while I stared at him! (I felt a tiny bit bad for a guy who wanted my parking spot, but I was able to send him to another spot.)
We then went to the quilt shop (where I forgot to get a seam ripper...) where I got a new rotary cutter, some thread & a fat quarter.

Guess what else I got at the quilt shop? Chocolate. Does your quilt shop sell "high end" chocolate? (Or something else that is rather far removed from quilting/sewing supplies?) Anyway, I knew it was there - I had just avoided it in the past, but I had to wait after pulling my three items. So I got to look around. The chocolate that I got has cashews & ginger - to things that I like to I made the purchase. Its not bad... The chocolatier is in West Virginia - DeFluri's Fine Chocolates.

If I hadn't

just had a baby, I would have applied for this job in a nanosecond! (I'm still thinking about it! & I'm  red-head, so this would not be the best job for me in reality - unless I was also given a ton of sun block!)

About the Obama Bag

Since several people asked about it, here is where I got it - no idea if they are still available or not... (Click on the "it.")

patience

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I can guarantee that Rhapsody only sat there because her mommy was close. She is not on board with the noisy baby yet...

That time is nearing...

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Yes, this may sound like whining, but when the population of an already crowded location is expected to triple or quadruple - it is expected. Especially from someone who already lived in that locale.

The population explosion is so bad for "ordinary" inagurations that that date is a Federal Holiday in DC & the surrounding counties & many non-Federal places (i.e. Universities) are closed as well.

This one will probably make those pale in comparison. (However, from what I have heard, the park service will not be estimating the crowd size. They use to do that rather scientifically, but there was some controversy surrounding a "march" so they don't anymore - from what I understand.)

I half way thought about going down myself, but I will be home with the baby instead. (The metro will be a bigger mess than it is on a daily basis! Mark my words if that is how you plan on getting down there - as if there were any other viable options....)

A whole lotta chatter just to show one bag made out of recycled newspapers, huh? (In case you did not know, I am a bag lady...)

trouble

trouble
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Someone else must have wanted some tummy time. While Jacob & I were bogging, RB decided to check out the quilt. - Good thing I was getting ready to wash it! (He had been watching tummy time rather intently!)

rolling over

rolling over
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Jacob dislikes tummy time so much that e rolls over! (He has been rolling over since he was about 4 weeks old!) My MIL was in disbelief until she saw it for her own eyes. He can only roll over 2 or 3 times, because he is fueled by anger!

(My advice to new mommies - 2 words dressing gown. Those are Jacob's main articles of clothing while we are home - easy access to the diaper & only 2 flailing limbs to work with! No snaps... I could go on, but Jacob needs to be flipped back onto his tummy.)

BTW The "quilt" was mine as a baby. It was pre-quilted & stamped with a Bambi cross-stitch pattern. My mother also did a wall hanging in the Bambi theme that had my name, & vital statistics.

Tummy time

Tummy time
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Since baby's are now put to sleep on their backs, mommies put babies on their tummies for exercise. Jacob does not like tummy time.

(Poor guy already has male pattern baldness - spoken for the mommy who was completely born completely bald & stayed that way for about 18 months!)

Laundry cats

Laundry cats
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Do you think I could teach them how to fold? (This is where I found them when I got home from running errands.)

I'm awake & thinking

I'm awake & thinking
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Usually when he is sleeping in the car seat, I am at the computer - 3 feet from him. He usually fusses once he wakes, but today he was quietly thinking. I was reading blogs & thinking - boy he has been a sleep for a while - he wasn't sleeping.

Don't wake a sleeping baby

Don't wake a sleeping baby
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

As with most babies, mine sleeps in the car. & In the car seat once we get home.

A couple things to think about

Why is it that when the Border's in my neighborhood is closing, I am compelled to shop? 

(food & drinks were 75% off & my husband really enjoys those fancy coffees. That is my excuse & I am sticking to it. Oh & the fresh baked cookies.... YUM)

I did not look at the craft (quilting) books, but I did walk away with quite a few cooking for baby/toddler, surviving the first year, raising a son, parenting, etc. books. Everything was 50% off. (As if that makes it any better.) Earlier when the discount was not as good, we got several baby books, & poetry books to read to Jacob.

How much will a cat take? 

You might remember how your infant thrashed his or her arms about... 

Last night, I had put Jacob down in the crib & went to lie down. He fussed, so the daddy changed him & then unexpectedly brought him in to me (Daddy went into the bathroom & I assumed that he would take Jacob to the living room with him when he was done.), but I already had two cats - desperate for some "alone time" with mommy. Rhapsody left right away, but RB sat there & then Jacob started to thrash. Poor RB had no idea what to do with a baby "hitting" him... I was there & I petted him & Jacob settled...  (I hate to admit it, but the look on the cats face was priceless - he was completely confused - he did not know wether he should run, hiss, etc.) 

Family Portrait

Family Portrait
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

"The First Family" (Portrait that is...)

Jacob & Mommy

Jacob & Mommy
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

This is probably a sure sign of first time parenthood, but we took our son for professional portraits...

My mother-in-law crocheted the sweater - it is a finger hooker. I had the hardest time getting that sweater onto him. :o)

black & white - mostly 50/50

black & white - mostly 50/50
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Since some people have asked about my black & white collection, I will tell a bit about what is going on.

To begin with, I am not sure when I started to collect these, but it was fairly early into my quilting.

Most of them are fat quarters - I prefer scrappy & have always been more happy to purchase 4 fat quarters instead of 1 yard.

I know that I purchased at least 2 fat quarter bundles - doing that jump starts your collection. For example, the 2 dark pieces in this photo along with their opposites & at least 2 other pieces were all purchased together. They are by Jan Mullen, one of my favorite fabric designers.

Then there is the fact that for 2 or 3 years (maybe more) I purchased every cat print that I could find, including the black & whites (& the ones that said "meow" or showed paw prints.)

In general, I do not buy fat quarter towers by Moda, nor do I buy with a pattern that says "X Yards of a print, Y yards of a dark compliment, etc." which I think also explains all of the black & whites... At least in comparison to someone who does buy by the pattern - or who buys a collection of fat quarters.

I haven't counted the number of prints that I have - but I went to the LQS to pick up my machine yesterday & did not buy the "new" fat quarters that were in the bin teasing my terribly!

Jacob & Mommy napping on the couch

Jacob & Mommy napping on the couch
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Several people have told me to nap when the baby naps... (Who knew there would be photographic evidence?)