Linden Hills Festival

In the spirit of catching up, the next adventure (happening on May 20th) was the Linden Hills Festival. I've attended with Riley in past years. We did not, however, participate in the kid and pet parade until this year. Riley got to stay home this time and Katy got to ride the choo-choo stroller. At the last minute, I got some kind of crazy idea I'd make the stroller into a train. It was slapdash crafting at it's finest. Time from start to finish was about 15 minutes and by the time we got to the parade, two blocks down, the mist had taken a toll on mama, Katy and the choo-choo. Nevertheless we soldiered on and enjoyed a fine parade!

Here's the fabulous engine with a stack made from the spiral from the water table and a pinwheel whipped up out of scrapbook paper and a long ruler. The back has drawings of a conductor, which sadly ended up looking more like the doughboy than a train conductor. Hazard of working for the doughboy for so long I guess!

Southwest High School band starts it off! It was quite crowded at the beginning so we let a bunch of people go before we took off. I'm not sure Katy was enthralled with the noise of the band anyway.

Next stop was the pony rides! After the parade, this was the main attraction for me us. Since Katy hadn't ever been on a pony before, at least as far as I know, she was apprehensive at first. We were almost first in line because it was nearing nap time, freezing cold and rainy. The ponies were just getting saddled up and we watched for a bit.

Then it was our turn! Katy loved it! Because it was her first time, I walked next to her. Guessing I wouldn't have to do that again but I didn't want her falling off when I was across the pen just for the sake of a good picture.

I did get a little bit of video. The jolt at the end is from the ride coming to a stop rather suddenly. Didn't scare this munchkin a bit, I think she's going to be a daredevil!

After the pony ride we hightailed it home so we could warm up. Looking at the weather today which is somewhere around 90 degrees and tropical dew points I can't imagine how we were so cold. brrrrr.

Mother's Day Race for the Cure

I decided this year I wanted to try the Komen Race for the Cure. The local radio station was giving away a plane ticket to bring someone to walk with you and I thought maybe I'd win it. Indeed, I didn't but I'm glad we went anyway. My cousins Kathleen and Karen joined us and it was a beautiful day for a walk. I'm not sure I felt any more connected to the cause. In fact I felt a little on the outside. In the pink washing that is associated with that pink ribbon, no one really talks about those of us fighting the metastatic battle. The not-so-happy, smily and pink part of cancer. I'm really happy about all the money that gets raised for screening, prevention and early diagnosing. Disappointed that more doesn't go to the 30% of us who see it rear its ugly head again, much too soon. In any case, I'm glad we went and now, even if we don't ever go again, we'll have the memories of a fun day!

Here we are pre-race...

 Amidst the mass of pink people

 Catching up with some of my Yoplait friends

 And post-race winding down

All in all it was a great way to spend my first mother's day with my angel!

Project Weighted Blanket

My darling Katy sometimes struggles to get to sleep. At daycare it's been especially difficult. In her crib she can jabber on in her own language of sorts for an hour or more. Completely content but very much awake. Hard to do that at daycare though! So after much research and the advice of Katy's occupational therapist, I embarked on the mission to create a calming weighted blanket. I found a great tutorial at Craft Nectar. It was very easy to follow and it has helped settle Katy's restlessness a lot.

First the supplies: fuzzy, fleecy type fabric (non stretchy) and a soft cottony fabric, poly pellets and a scale. The striped fabric made it easy for this rookie sewer to keep in straight lines. I used 4 lbs of the pellets and the finished size was about 30"x45".

 Sewing the two fabrics together and creating channels

 Starting to fill the channels

 Almost finished

 The final product!

 Closer view, scrunchier face

Katy is loving her blanket and is sleeping much better at home and at daycare. I have enough supplies to make another so we don't have to carry it back and forth every day. Now just to find the time...