It's a tough life ...

but some baby has to do it, right?

Ryan fell asleep while looking at the toys hanging above his play mat, the other day. And just a few minutes ago he drifted off while having his 'tummy time'. I know about the risks of kids sleeping on their tummies, but I am right here beside him and I have a firm 'let sleeping children lie' policy.

Oh, how wonderful it would be to sleep like, well, a baby!

Tuesday Tips for Mum - Baby sleep tip

Kimberly at Raising Olives is hosting a new blog carnival, called Tuesday Tips for Mum. It is all about passing on those hard-learned gems of inspiration, ideas or tried and true tips that may help all (or even one!) of us mums make it through the day (or night) that little bit more easily.

My tip is about helping a sweet little baby sleep better. Ryan is treating me wonderfully, and usually sleeps through until around 1am, when he wakes for a quick feed. I then want him to go back to sleep quickly too. But after having been warmly snuggled in my arms and nursing on warm milk, I was then putting him back on sheets and blankets that had gone cold in the chilly night air -- and expecting him to sleep!

I know that I hate getting into cold sheets - so why expect the baby to be any different?? My solution is to keep a hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket, beside the bassinet / crib. When I pick him up to feed, I slip the hot water bottle in where he was, and tuck the blanket back down over it. Just like they have seat-filler people at the Oscars, Ryan has a stand-in (or would that be lie-in?) baby, as it were!

When I put him back in, I take the hot water bottle out and he is snug and warm in his cocoon again.

Head on over to Raising Olives for more great parenting tips.

Still here!

I am still here, in case you were wondering.... I am just digging my way out from underneath a mountain of packing boxes, and dirty nappies. Boy, do little babies go through them!

We are now officially moved to a small regional town, about 1.5 hours drive from the city we were living in. And I love it! On a very busy day at the local supermarket, the check-out girl offered to have someone help me take my groceries to the car, and then a lovely man offered to push my full trolley up the steep slope to my car (I had to park in the very back of the car park). Obviously a lady with 2 small kids gets sympathy in the country. In the city, they just look sideways at you and think "Crazy lady - who brings 2 small children shopping?", then keep walking.

All is well with us - Ryan is still being very kind to his mamma, and sleeping very well. He is down to 1 feed through the night now, and sleeps till 7am most mornings. Of course, he feeds like a trooper all day, and is putting on nearly a pound a week -- eek! I think he is going to be a front rower - must remember to advise the Wallabies (Australia's national Rugby Union team), that he is available for selection!

Welcome Ryan William

Ryan William

Born - 3.10am, Monday, 23 March 2009

Weight - 8lb 10oz (3.920kgs)

Length - 50 cms

Much loved and cuddled by parents and big sister Naomi!

Patience is not one of my virtues....

Technically, there are still 9 days to go until my due date. Realistically, I wanted this over and done with a month ago! I spend my days analysing every twinge, ache and pain and wondering... will it start today? Or tonight?

A few weeks ago I would have said I was nesting. The house was spotless, I was following my housekeeping routine and felt like I had some energy and a positive vibe going. Now I just feel hot, tired and aching. All I want to do is sit down and read / stitch / surf the internet / sleep. Unfortunately, I could write the same list and call it "Things Naomi HATES Mummy Doing"!!

My one really useful achievement in the past couple of weeks has been to start cooking double sizes of some meals and freezing them away for easy post-baby dinners. We only have a small freezer compartment, so I am actually sending all my frozen meals out to Mum's big deep freeze, for collection back at a later date! It has made our grocery bills a bit higher, to be buying extra meat portions, but will be well worth it when Brad and I are both too exhausted to be bothered cooking.

My mum is convinced that the baby will be born this Saturday, 14 March. The date is special to us, as it was my Dad's birthday. And it is also the first date that we calculated my due date to be, before the first scan. Me, I am beginning to feel like I will be pregnant forever!

The good news and the serious stuff...

So I had my next OB appointment this morning. To get the results of the Glucose Tolerance Test that I had to do, after failing the Diabetes Exclusion Test. Apparently I failed the first test pretty spectacularly (if you are going to do it, do it well).

The good news is that I passed the GTT just fine - the OB classed the first one as an 'anomaly'. YAY!!!! I suspect I should probably still ease off on the Mars Bar Cheesecake, but it is good to know that I haven't been labelled as a Gestational Diabetic. And I can nibble on the occasional piece of chocolate, totally guilt-free!

As the title of this post implies, there are some serious thoughts going through my hormone-swamped brain as well. Brad and I are just sort of getting our heads around the whole 'actually having a second baby' thing. I have asked a good friend to mind Naomi when the time comes, and she has happily agreed to do so. N has played there with her little friend Harry a few times when I have had to do things, so hopefully she will be fine.

I had a long labour with Naomi - the first, 'latent' phase took about 24 hours, but the contractions were 3 minutes apart right from the first one. At about the 18 hour mark, I was tired, emotional and worrying that I couldn't make the distance. Then when I was told that I was only 2 cms dilated, I fell apart. It took some pethidine and a few hours sleep to get me back ready for more active labour, which still took another 10 hours. I was lucky to have had my wonderful sister as a midwife, and she knew what I really wanted -- ie, that my yelling for a caesarean to get it over and done with was just the tired raving of a scared woman. She (and Brad, my mum and another midwife) were a tower of strength in talking me through it.

I find myself being a bit concerned that the OB and the private hospital that we are going to this time might have a firm time frame in mind, and start talking about interventions such as epidurals, if I am not on their schedule. I did have a chat with the OB about this today, and he assured me that second labours are always different to the first time, and that he certainly did not expect me to have anything like the time frame. We also discussed natural options to get things moving - taking a walk, having a sleep, going home etc. He is happy to do these things, and doesn't feel the need to leap into breaking the waters, or using drugs to speed things up. This was reassuring.

A good friend who has had 4 natural births suggested that I use a little notebook, just to jot down my wishes before going to the hospital, so that the midwives have a note that I don't want to be told how dilated I am, don't want an epidural if at all possible etc. I think this is a good idea - especially as I want Brad to be able to focus on me and our baby, rather than have him in discussions with medical staff.

My question (after this long-winded and boring post) is -- has anyone actually written a birth plan, and if so, did you find that it helped to communicate your wishes and facilitate the kind of atmosphere in the birth suite that you wanted? If you know what I mean???

Out of the mouths of babes...

So I had my scan and 19-week check up last Friday. Everything is fine - the doctor tells me that I am having a 'textbook pregnancy'. Which is comforting, I guess! We don't know whether we are having a boy or girl - we had decided not to find out, but it was hard to say 'no' when the sonographer asked... I was watching the baby move on the screen and wondering "Are you a boy or a girl?".

I had to take a ur*ne sample to the doctor's appointment. As all mothers know there is no privacy whatsoever, and as one of our daycare kids is currently toilet training, Naomi has an obsession with toilets and their workings... She was watching as I filled the sample pot. And insisted on carrying it in the car (after I had tightly sealed the lid). She then resisted all my attempts to put it discreetly in our bag as we walked through the doctor's office. Not my girl -- she waved it around and announced to the receptionist, at full volume ... "Toilet! Mummy undies!"

The only saving grace was that, as the first appointment of the day, there were only staff and 1 other patient to see my humiliation!

Nearly as good a story as my friend, who tucked her sample pot in the back pocket of the seat of her car, couldn't find it at the doctor's surgery so did another sample, then forgot about the whole incident. Until her BOSS discovered a little jar of yellow liquid in the seat pocket, several weeks later, as she was driving them both to an important work meeting!

Does anyone else have an amusing 'sample jar' story?? Or do these things just happen to me, and mine?

What happened to my life??

Who am I?? Where is the real Sasha??????

I feel like I fell pregnant and my life just collapsed around me. Let me take stock.

Motivation - nil.
Energy level - nil.
Care factor - nil. Sometimes less than nil. Negative care factor.

I just wake up, nibble my dry crackers, crawl out of bed in time to get Naomi and I breakfast and brush my hair before the first daycare children arrive. Then it is the usual ups and downs, and by the time the last one leaves I just collapse on the couch, wondering what on earth I am going to feed my own little family for dinner. It's lucky our bill paying is all forward scheduled through the internet banking, because I hadn't turned the computer on in about 3 weeks.

Trying to think positively, I have been much less nauseous this time around. With Naomi I was actually sick most days, all the way through. This time, I have felt seedy all day but only been sick a couple of times (one was the result of a particularly awful nappy!). And it seems to be receding a bit, this week, so maybe I will be better in a couple of weeks time.

But will that bring my energy back??? My motivation?? My enthusiasm for the things I was doing before?? I hope so. Because I still want to do them. I just can't think about anything that complicated now!!

There were 2 pink lines...

on the test strip that I did over the weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had my contraception implant out on 2 May. And now we have conceived in the first full cycle after that!

By my calculation I am about 5 1/2 weeks pregnant. the women in my family have a history of awful morning sickness. With Naomi, mine started at about 8 weeks, and didn't stop until the day I had her. I am therefore enjoying this brief respite period where I still feel fine (although rather tired), and stocking up on ginger biscuits for the morning that I know will arrive when the reality check hits me like a ton of bricks.

Can I really be pregnant again? It just doesn't feel like it yet... but I am getting excited, nervous and all the other roller-coasters in between.

Sewing bee

Where has the last 3 weeks gone?? I cannot believe it has been soooo long since I found time to post!

I have been busy busy busy. The Family Daycare business is really starting to take off - I now have as many children to care for as I want for the moment. I have decided to limit myself to Naomi + 2 each day, rather than the +3 that I can legally take. Four children of 2 and under is just crazy. I know -- I've tried it! Frankly, the money for 1 extra child isn't worth the frustration and exhaustion that I feel by mid-morning! And having 1 place available each day allows me to take emergency care if the need arises, or if one of my current children needs an extra day of care for some reason.

As for the reference to sewing in the title of this post, I have been busy on that front too. It is getting chilly here now (well, what we tropical people think of as cool, anyway), and I wanted to make Naomi some long-sleeved t-shirts and rompers. I took her and Brad to Spotlight (I know... crazy, huh??), and he picked out a pattern for short-sleeved rompers, and some very light-weight knit fabric. Ummm... why? Because he liked the print and thought it would be cute on our little Blossom. Oooohhhhh kayyyyy.......

But I thought, well, I can put long-sleeved shirts under the strappy rompers, so that will work well. My wonderful Mum gave me a lesson in t-shirt making, (which is easy, when someone is showing, and a fiddly pain in the neck when figuring it out on your own!). Then on to the rompers. A very easy pattern, so it only took a couple of sessions to get it all together. I made the 12 month size for my tiny little Miss 16 Months. Then I tried it on her. The legs (meant to be a short-leg romper) dragged on the floor. And the shoulder straps fell off - on both sides.

The picture below wouldn't turn right way up, so you will have to tip your head to the side. I am putting this romper away until next season. Or maybe next year!

Mince Casserole for toddlers (and anyone else!)

Just a quick post to share - here is Naomi's favourite food at the moment (and I love to make it, because it is so darn easy!)



Crock-pot Mince Casserole



1/2 kg lean beef mince
1 beef stock cube
2 carrots (diced)
1 potato (diced)
frozen corn kernels and frozen peas
crushed garlic
herbs
rice (about 3 handfuls)
1 can diced tomatoes

Brown the mince and place in the crock pot with the can of diced tomatoes. Add stock cube and about 1/2 a cup of water, and the diced carrots and potato. Stir in about 1 teaspoon crushed garlic. Simmer for 2 hours. Add the frozen corn kernels and peas, and the herbs of your choice (I use dried mixed herbs). Add several handfuls of rice and continue simmering. Keep an eye on the liquid level - the rice will absorb excess water.

When vegetables and rice are cooked, allow to cool. Serve into individual portions and freeze. I get about 7 meals for Miss 15 Months from this quantity.

So much to tell!

NB - Posted without photos until such time as Blogger figures out its "temporary error"!

What a week - so much happening, and yet I have had no time to blog about it!

After much thought and discussion, we have decided to put our house on the market. We are currently in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house that we love. It has a pretty little garden and a lovely pool, and has been the perfect place for us to start our little family. But, with the advent of the Family Daycare business, and the possibility of more little ones, we have decided that we need 4 bedrooms. And it helps that we have found a house nearby that fits our "wish list" (4 bed, 2 bath, office, landscaped pool, bigger back yard for kids to play in, closer in to the village centre), and that we plan to make an offer on today!

The next big decision is which real estate agent to list our property with. We are actually planning on selling our investment property as well, to get a really good deposit for the new house, so we are double customers for some lucky realtor. There is a lady with extensive knowledge of our area (we bought this house off her, and maintained contact in the interim). But she has been a bit presumptuous that of course we would use her company - and the commission she is charging is around A$11,500 per house!

On the other hand, a new-ish realtor (2 years) has taken the market by storm up here, by offering fixed price commissions at much lower rates (around A$6,000 per house). That is half price! And the agent I have dealt with there impresses me as being honest, down-to-earth, not ridiculously pushy or presumptuous.

So today I have to tell the other lady that unless she can do a really good deal on the commission for selling 2 houses, we are listing with the other realtor. **Be strong, Sasha... stand firm. It is a lot of money at stake!**


Let me see, what else to tell.... oh, yes, Naomi has learnt herself a new skill. Look closely at this picture... See that white lumpy thing on the floor in the bottom left of the frame? Yep, she has figured out the velcro fastening on her disposable nappies. More specifically, she has figured out how to undo the velcro fastening! I am going to have to get some nappy covers, or put her in shorts every day from now on, to avoid having to clean the floors again, and again, and again!

Last but definitely not least, it has finally happened.... I am in love. Yes, at the tender age of 30, I have at last found true bliss. Here is my new partner....

We have had my mum's old washing machine for the past 3 years. She had it for 15 years before that. It worked just great, and was nice and large. But it finally died on Saturday morning, so we decided the time had come for a new one. Front-loading, water-saving, quiet-spinning, all-singing, all-dancing... and we get a $200 rebate off the purchase price, from the Government, for buying a water-saving model. This made it cheaper than the top-loading, water-guzzling machines we had been looking at! What bargain shoppers we are.

WFMW - easier nappy changing

Do you have a 'roller' or a 'climber' on your hands? When you approach the change table do you just know that you are going to end up fastening the nappy 'on the run'?

It is now 5 weeks since I started running Family Day Care from our house, and I have the care of 3 little angels, all under the age of 2. (Yikes, how did that happen?!!?). I am learning some tricks pretty fast, I tell you!

My tips for making changing easier are:

1. Hang some windchimes (get them cheap at your local $2 shop), above the change table - up nice and high. Chime them when you put the child down, and re-tinkle whenever you have to!

2. Give the child a job to do. "Naomi, could you hold the nappy cream for me please?" (I keep an empty tube of cream so that I can still use cream without wrestling her for it.). Or "Could you get me 3 wipes out of the box please?" (Count to 3 with them -- otherwise you will end up with 23 wipes that can't be stuffed back through the dispenser!).

3. Bring a little toy with you, to keep little hands busy - but make sure that it is a plastic or wooden one that you can quickly rinse in anti-bacterial rinse afterwards. Stuffed toys are not good for this job!

4. Learn to fasten nappies up with the child standing (on the floor, of course). This is the last resort!

Now head over t0 Rocks In My Dryer for more great WFMW tips.

The Terrible Transitions

Terrible two's?? Ha ha ha.... I laugh in the face of such things.... because we are stuck deep in the middle of what I have now termed the "Terrible Transition".

Naomi has never been the best sleeper. I used to call her the "39 minute wonder". But now we are stuck in a terrible groove that I can't se ehow to break her out of. The dilemma is... 1 nap or 2 per day??

She usually wakes sometime between 3.30am and 4.30am, for a feed, or if I don't feed her, for a cry. Then wake up for the day between 5.30 and 6am (depending on outcome of 3.30 wake up). Ready to crash again between 9 and 9.30 (latest). But only naps for maybe an hour, at the most. And then, she is ready for action. Mostly refuses an afternoon nap and by 4pm is collapsing with fatigue. Then she quite often has 30 - 40 minutes nap around 4.30pm, and wakes up sooooo grumpy that I have to carry her on my hip until dinner is ready, then quick bath and bed by 6.45pm.

The up side is that she then usually sleeps through till that 3.30am wake, because she is so exhausted.

The poor little mite is tired all the time, she is cranky, clingy and fussy. But if I try putting her down for a nap, she screams and screams and screams (you get the idea).

I have been trying to push the morning nap back towards lunch time, and hoping it will get a bit longer, but she just can't make it past about 9.30am, and the whole cycle starts again!

Does anyone have any ideas for transitioning from 2 sleeps to 1?? I am calling on all you experienced mummies out there.... HELP!!

Do you have a nap routine?

I used to be a very organised person... at work. I have never really been organised at home, despite my best efforts. But today I noticed that I have a little routine thing going.

When Blossom's little eyelids drift closed, the first thing I do is go to the loo. Is there any other job in the world where your "co-workers" not only follow you to the toilet, but want to come in with you, and cry if you shut the door?? So I grab a pee in peace.

Next thing is to put the kettle on, and prepare the cup for tea (aaahhhh... the elixir of the Gods). While the kettle is heating up, I do a quick whip around, generally picking up stray blocks, putting the books back on the shelf and even a very brief sweep of the kitchen floor. Once that kettle boils, though, it is relax time for me. I either read, or blog, or just surf and check my emails, while sipping my reviving Earl Grey blend. I figure that a de-stressed mummy / carer is a better mummy / carer, and the rest of the toys can be picked up at any time.

If there is a miracle and the nap lasts longer than my cup of tea, I do try to get a few other things done, but not until I can count the leaves on the bottom of my pretty china cup.

What do you do when your darlings are asleep? Do you have any routines that are essential for preserving your sanity?

To Dr Smith, with Love

Is there any more important service provider to your family, than your trusted family doctor? Ours is a lovely man, Dr Smith, who has 2 children of his own and a very thriving practice. He used to be located much closer to us at the Cherished household, but has moved his business to about 20 minutes drive away. He is so popular that getting appointments at short notice is difficult, and he is perennially late (go at 9.45 for a 9am booking!).

But he is so good with Naomi, and at reassuring her parents. Naomi had her 12 month injections today (well, 2 of them - the third is in 2 weeks time, because of a shortage of the vaccine), as well as a weigh and measure. That was the part I was dreading. At 6 months I took her to our local free health clinic for injections and a check-up. I ended up feeling terrible as the nurse told me she was "failing to thrive", due to her being in the bottom 10th percentile for size. I was told that I wasn't breastfeeding her enough (6 times a day was not enough?!?!).

Since that time I have snuck into the self-serve weigh and measure room, avoiding clinic hours, to monitor Naomi's progress without being guilt-tripped over having a small child (hello -- I am 5'2". Brad is 5'4". Do you think we will be breeding basketballers???).

So when Dr Smith weighed and measured her and we saw that she has not grown any taller, nor put on any significant weight in the last month, he just looked at me and said "Is she active?" -- Yes, started walking and can't keep her still! --. "Does she eat well?" -- Yes, like a horse --. "Is she still breastfeeding?" -- Yes, at least twice a day--. His final verdict -- "Well, then, she is doing fine and is going to be a petite little darling."

I could have kissed him. What a relief to not be put through the wringer.

And, after injections, he gave her a balloon and personally drew a smiley face on it. No sugar-loaded treats in sight, but she was happily playing with the balloon all the way home.

So, I have come to the conclusion that if you find a good doctor, stick with them. Through late appointments and longer drives. Stick with them.

In which I have a rant....

I hope, dear readers, that you have by now formed the opinion that I am a generally cheery kind of person. I like to think that I have a bit of a "teflon" coating that allows some of life's minor irritations to slide right on off. I don't normally like to use this wonderful bloggy forum to spit the dummy... particularly about people whom I love dearly. But I have to tell you all about what has been bothering me recently. I have muttered my opinions to Brad, and he shares them, but this is festering enough for me to want to air it in public!

We had family visitors staying with us last week - they came up for Naomi's first birthday, which was lovely. We enjoy having them here - not least because they do the washing up every night... I have had to specifically ask them not to, when the guilt factor got too much for me! But this last few months, one issue has really bugged me.

Whenever the topic of conversation turns to Naomi and her latest achievements, behaviour, sleeping patterns, etc, (or those of Naomi's 2 little cousins, who are nearly 4 and 2), there is an inevitable comment regarding how perfect their 2 children were as little ones. And I mean, to the most ridiculous levels. I have concluded that these were not children, but dolls, or perhaps Pavlov's dogs, in disguise.

Case in point --- my definition of a successful evening out with a 1 year old is no tears or tantrums. We had a very enjoyable dinner out with the visitors last week. Naomi sat in her highchair to eat dinner (while we were waiting for our meals). Then, understandably, she got a bit antsy and wanted to get down for a while. She sat on my lap during the meal, nibbling on pieces of finger food that I gave her. I was happy with this arrangement, and things were going swimmingly.... until.... "Of course, Braddy (what MIL calls DH!) sat to the table perfectly in restaurants, and fed himself at age 2. He was never any trouble at all in a restaurant." What the??? Neither is Naomi -- by my definition, she was being an ANGEL!!

A few other recent comments...

"By 14 months, Braddy was walking, talking and fully toilet trained." To which I couldn't hold my tongue, and had to reply, "So no nappies at all after 14 months?". The response was silence.

"Our 2 never had any trouble with teething - they weren't even irritable".

"We never had any problems with their sleeping - they just went to bed, there was no crying."

"We never had to go into them at night - they just didn't cry."

The cumulative effect of these comments is to make me feel that Naomi is in some way badly behaved, for such things as needing Panadol when teething, crying at bedtime, and not being even remotely close to thinking about potty training!

I have blatantly said (albeit in a joking tone of voice), that I didn't believe it, and perhaps they had raised dolls, rather than babies. This was when I was at the end of my outer limits of patience.

With distance now firmly restored, I am able to start letting it go... but really, am I getting het up over nothing? Is it just the passing of some 35 years since "Braddy" (Lord, how he hates that name!!) was a baby, that makes the sleepless nights and food tossed on the floor mysteriously disappear??? Have you had anyone make comments that made you just want to come out fighting in defence of your child's absolutely normal behaviour for their age???

First steps...

So much to tell, so little time! I often go for days without blogging, because it is hard to imagine that the little happenings in my life are of any interest to anyone else out there in the Blogosphere, but today I am brimming with things, and only have while Naomi is napping to tell them!

Our little blossom took her first steps last Saturday, with Mummy and Daddy looking on very proudly. I knew it was close because she had shuffled one foot forward a couple of times in the previous days, but the sweet thing held off until her dad was at home to do the real thing. I don't know who was more pleased with themselves - Naomi or Brad! He had been betting that she walked before turning 1 - and she made it, by about 18 hours.

Sunday we had a little party for Naomi's first birthday - just another baby friend of hers from playgroup, and family. It was my first test of birthday cake making - which in my mind, I had built up to be an essential skill for "good mummy-ness"!

I was tempted by the beauty (and simplicity) of the Dolly Varden cakes - bake a cake, plain ice it, stick a doll down the middle and plaster the cake with marshmallows. Even I could manage that. But then I thought it might be best to leave that to a year when Naomi will actually remember and appreciate it ("Remember when you made that lovely fairy princess cake for me, Mummy darling?"). So, instead I made a rectangle cake and cut out a "1" shape, iced it pink and made marshmallow flowers for decoration. I must say, it looked rather good, for a complete amateur. And I am sure that the pink food colouring will wear off the grouting between the kitchen tiles, in time....

Unfortunately the photo of my masterpiece is on DH's camera, which he has taken to work today (no idea why). But I will post it when the camera returns to its rightful place in my "technology" drawer!

Do you like...

how you treat other people in your worst moments?? I have discovered that I do not like it at all.

As background, you should know that I am not a morning person - never have been, never will be. Just ask my dear family. So one of the hardest parts of motherhood, for me, has been sleep deprivation and early morning starts. Naomi has developed this habit of waking at around 5am, having a feed and not going back to sleep. She does it a couple of times a week. And I hate it.

On days that start at 5am, I am the worst grouch in the world, to the people I love the most. Snappy, grumpy, and prickly. And that's how I describe myself - I hate to think what B & N think of me!!!

My current management strategy has been to put Naomi in bed between us, turn my back and try to pretend that she isn't pulling my hair, chattering and climbing all over us. Needless to say, this isn't working. So, I've made a small resolution with myself, to make an effort to at least pretend to smile, on such days. I need to face the reality that I should get up, make a cup of tea and try to face the day, rather than being grouchy and snapping at anyone who comes near my side of the bed -- while knowing that I can't go back to sleep, anyway.

At least then, I may like myself better, even if I am still propping my eyelids open with matchsticks!!

Does anyone have any other tips, for coping with little sleep??

Never too young...

Naomi wanted to help out with the strippy quilt I am making for her. At first she was trying to help by pushing down the foot pedal of my machine, under the work table. When that resulted in some rather uncontrolled sewing, (and more than a few palpitations on my part) we came up with a new plan! So here she is, assisting with the random selection of strips and squares.

I usually put them all in a bag and draw out one at a time, but Naomi had way more fun throwing them up into the air and waving all around. I think this might have to become my new 'random generator'!