counting down the days

Leo has been in a spica cast since the end of February for a broken femur.  it's been hard for everyone else, so I can't imagine how bad it's been for Leo :(

he's been doing pretty good to just lay around and watch Netflix (he's getting into the older shows like Charlie Brown and Gumby), play with his trucks, draw on his Magnadoodle, and once in a while we're allowed to read him books when it's not bedtime.  he wiggles around pretty good on his belly and back to get across the floor, too.

 

he's becoming more attached to stuffed animals - this started when we had Jack and he'd put his bear in the swing, give it a drink from his sippy cup, and wipe it's nose - but now he almost plays with a few of his stuffed animals as much as he plays with his trucks.  I catch him talking to them sometimes - too cute!  he's named a bear that his Great-Great-Aunt Georgina gave him Baby Jack :) 

when it's nice out we take a wagon ride around the neighborhood, but that's the only place other than the house we can take him since he's not supposed to really travel much.  his car seat doesn't hold him too well and it's uncomfortable after a little while.  fortunately, he gets weekly visits from Mé, PawPaw, and Grandma.  occasionally Jack is allowed to share his pillow for a few moments.

one good thing is he's getting more verbal when he needs something since he has to rely on being able to tell us what he needs.  for the first few weeks he just screamed in frustration and we could count on a daily temper tantrum, but then they stopped and he asks "please?" or "help" to get our attention.

he's also getting pretty clever.  he learned that one of our biggest concerns is keeping his cast clean, so we asked him a lot if he was poopy in the beginning since his answer was always 'no' even if he was, then because we made such a big deal about poop he's been informing us every time he toots, and announcing "no poo poo! :) " when we check his diaper.  he even uses the frantic "POO POO!" as a way to get me too run to his aid when he needs a toy or something out of his reach when I'm preoccupied with feeding or soothing Jack and I've already told him he'll need to wait.  he's become 'The Boy Who Cried Poop', but because he's so cute I let it slide.  I'm hoping this will put him in tune with what's going on and maybe he'll be a little more ready to sit on the potty when this is over.

I've got calendars set around the house and have been marking the days until we go to get the cast off.  we have 3 days left and I hope the x-rays look good when we go in Thursday to see the Orthopedic Doctor so that this thing comes off right then and there.  Leo finally started telling us he wanted the cast off when we had 2 weeks to go so I've been counting down the days with him.  I can't wait to get him back to the park, and just out of the house!

stitch markers

I needed some stitch markers for this granny square I was making, so I used some paper clips, which worked just fine, but I wanted to make them a little cuter so I curled the ends.

then I looked online to see what other wire stitch markers were out there that people were making and I found this post for making simple markers.  I like how cute and little they are :)

the plastic coating was a little finicky to work with and would tend to split on the cut ends, so I think next time I'd be a little more careful and score the plastic with a blade first and then clip the wire so it doesn't split and peel.

all in all I'm happy with how quick they worked up and the use of stuff I already had on hand.

 

leather pouch

 

my dad comes over to see Leo and I once a week and he usually has change for Leo to put in his coin banks.  the last time he was over he mentioned that he wanted to get a leather bag to keep the coins in that he brings over (he had them in a sock because he'd collected so many to bring) so I thought I'd try to see if I could make one for him.

I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but thought I'd Google it and see what other ideas there were before I settled on a design, and I'm glad I did because I love this one:

 

I have a bag of saddle scraps so I just used that, but I think I'd try it with suede next time.  the piece I had that was big enough had a cheap looking finish, so I sanded it off and used some old walnuts I had to oil it and make it soft and dark.  a good way to get the most oil out of the nut was to squeeze them through my garlic press to make a paste.

 

I cut two half circles out of a softer leather for the sides so they gathered easy, and measured around the curved side to figure out how long to make the rectangle then sewed the round side of the half circle to the edge of the rectangle.  after I did both sides I punched holes along the sides and put two on the front and back to lace a piece of cord through.

it holds quite a bit of change but it's still pretty small.  I like how it came out, but I think my favorite part of it is the smell!

belts for Leo

Leo is in a long and skinny phase where for his pants to be long enough they're too big in the waist, so I made him some D-ring belts.

to make a simple ribbon belt you'll need:

• ribbon (grosgrain works best for me, but experiment and find what you like)
• D-rings
• sewing machine/needle & thread
• optional: fray check or lighter

determine the length you want the belt to be (I made Leo's  24" long), double it, and add 3/4".  cut to size and melt the ends of the ribbon if it's synthetic, or glue them if it's natural fibers to keep them from fraying.

overlap the D-rings by 1/2" and sew across. with the other end, fold in half and overlap the end you just sewed by 1/4" and sew across really well.

sew from the end with the d-rings all the way down to the other end. turn and sew across the folded edge, then turn again and sew back up the other side to the d-ring end. turn again and sew across to where you started from, back stitch to secure your stitches, and that's it!