Today, Ice Princess went to a Spin Clinic. I was very impressed with the man who put it on. He is a very positive person and the handouts he gave the kids just screams that. He talked about goals, he talked about fun, he talked about the importance of having both. He talked about heart and the importance of having that too. It was a great way for her to spend a couple of hours of her time and I think we will have her do it again next year!
Here is a You Tube video of the guy who taught the clinic today: Craig Heath
When I was in 7th or 8th grade, I made a sweatshirt in my home economics class. I didn't do a fabulous job, but it turned out well enough that I remember actually wearing it to school. Now, that probably doesn't say TOO much since I was just "geeky" enough to wear something like that! I don't recall any of my friends wearing theirs to school so I'm sure I wore it because I was proud that I had actually created it. LOL!
After that, my next attempt at using a sewing machine was in April of 1999. My sister-in-law was visiting and I asked her if she could help me make Ice Princess a dress. I believe that while I tried to do it, she ended up completing the project.
Fast forward to 1 week ago. for the last few months, I have been on the hunt for a inexpensive, used sewing machine. I considered buying a new one but to be honest, I wasn't 100% sure I would use it enough to justify buying a new one. Anyway, most of the machines I found for sale were 200 and 300 hundred for a REALLY GOOD used machine or they were sergers. If I found one in the price range I was willing to pay, it was typically an antique machine in a cabinet or belonged to someone who lived 30 minutes or more from me. Gas prices being what they are, I certainly did not want to travel very far!
A week ago, I was browsing the ads once again and to my surprise, I found a machine located in my town and it was a price I was willing to pay! YIPPY! It is an older machine(I would guess 20+ yrs old), but I didn't care. The lady I bought it from, didn't know much about it since it had been given to her. When I got it home, I tried it out. I'm grateful it came with the manual... it has come in very handy! This machine has some quirks that drive me batty, but so far I am figuring it out. I've turned pants into shorts and I've made some cloths for the kids to use to dry off their ice skate blades. I can see making curtains, placemats and various other things I will use around the house too. However, the biggest reason I wanted to learn how to sew, was so I could make my daughter ice skating dresses.
I had been playing with my machine long enough to know that all of the stitch functions worked and I was able to sew a straight line. I decided to go and buy a pattern and some material to make Ice Princess a skating dress. I found some material for less then 10.00! I actually paid more for the pattern then I did for the fabric! I wasn't too bothered by that since I intended to make her more dresses.
I measured my daughter, cut out the pattern, arrangedthe pattern pieces on the fabric and then cut the fabric. I was so proud of myself for doing all of that! I was so excited thinking Ice Princess might have a new dress by Monday(this was Thursday). I sat down at my machine and decided before I tried sewing the actual dress, I would practice on some left over, scrap fabric. Much to my dissappointment, I could not get the same results I was getting on the other fabrics I had been practicing on! I don't know what the problem is! I can't figure it out. I have tried and tried to no avail. I can sew other things just fine, but for some reason, I cannot get my machine to work well with this fabric! I haven't given up on sewing Ice Princess a dress, but I have decided I will need to ask for help! Thankfully my mother in law can sew. I am hoping she can enlighten me and show me what I am doing wrong! Yes, Kelli, I am planning on askingyou for help! Hee hee! I am bound and determined to make this dress! One way or another, I will figure this out. Making Ice Princess'dresses will definately save me money in the long run! Now if only I can figure out HOW to get my machine to cooperate with me! When I get it sorted out, I will post pictures of her in her new dress. :-)
I am trying to learn how to make videos using still pictures. I found a website that has templates for them, so I made a video. I'm not sure what to think of it and honestly, I don't have the exact pictures I would like to have in it. Our scanner broke and since some of the pictures I want to use were taken pre-digital camera, I have to rely on my photobucket account for copies. Seeing as most of those pictures were resized, they tend to look a bit distorted. Anyway, here's my video!
We spent Saturday night and Sunday with Dave's mom and stepdad. They own some property and invited us to come and stay for the night. It was a great time for the kids to spend some time with their grandparents and their aunt and uncle(who are 16 and 17). We had a lot of fun and it was nice to get away, even if it was only for 1 night. Here are some pictures from our little trip:
Spielberg, doing what most teenage boys do...EATING!
Ice Princess also eating...hmm I sense a theme here! LOL
Speedracer sitting on a rock looking as happy as can be!
Speedracer and Ice Princess climbing!
Speedracer driving Grandpa Glen's tractor. No, he was not driving it completely alone, but shhh don't tell him that! He thinks he is hot stuff after driving Grandpa's tractor!
Today I want to share my little boy, Little Warrior. Little Warrior is Ice Princess' twin brother. As I have mentioned before, Ice Princess and Little Warrrior started out this life in a way I do not wish on any family or child. They were extremely premature and because of that, life was certianly a challenge from the get-go.
Little Warrior came into the world weighing 2 pounds 5 ounces and measuring 12 1/2 inches in length. Despite being so premature, he still looked a lot like his older brother, Spielberg. I was amazed the first time I saw him. His eyes were still fused closed and it took an additional 9 days before they opened. He was beautiful...small but beautiful.
Here he is at 5 days of age. It's hard to see him! The socks he is waering are newborn sized socks, they look gigantic on his little feet! He was also under a bili light because his bilirubin levels were too high. Not an uncommon thing for premature babies.
Little Warrior and Ice Princess on August 23rd, 1998. This was the night before Ice Princess was discharged from the NICU and this was also the first time the twins had been together since their birth. I cherish this picture and the others from this same night.
Little Warrior at 9 months of age. He had just eaten ceral. You can't tell from this scanned picture, but he had the most amazing baby blues I have ever seen! Speedracer's eyes come close, but Little Warrior's eyes were sooo amazing!
Little Warrior had a severe complication only a few days after his birth. He had 2 very severe brain bleeds called intraventricular hemorrhaging. They grade these bleeds on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the worst. Little Warrior had a grade 2-3 on one side and a 4 on the other side. Because of the bleeding, he developed another complication. He developed hydrocephalus and required a shunt to drain the fluid off of his brain. He had other coplications also, but none that were as severe as the bleeds. The complication of hydrocephalus would prove to be the worst possible situation. Our little boy fought so hard to be with us. He endured 10 surgieries on his head and 2 other non related surgeries. He spent 148 days in the NICU and 2 months after his NICU discharge, he spent an additional 30 days in the PICU. It always seemed that when things were going well, the other shoe would drop and we would be taking 2 steps back. When I look back on those days, I can hardly believe we made it through. It was extremely painful to watch your children struggle to survive. As a parent, you feel obligated to make all of the hurt go away... you want to endure it for them so they do not have to go through it. Unfortunately, we can't do that and it is a battle they must endure. Some people might wonder why we put our baby through so much and why we didn't stop but to be honest, from the very begining Dave and I decided we would fight with him as long as he wanted to fight. We tried our best to make the best possible decisions for our child. Little Warrior was an amazing little boy. He had every right in the world to complain but he only did so when he truly needed to do so. The nurses in the NICU commented on his gentle temperment. They told us that most babies with the kind of neurological problems he had, were cranky and fussier then other babies. Not LIttle Warrior. Little Warrior was a very snuggly baby who melted the hearts of those who came in contact with him. He was soooo loved by us, our extended family and the medical staff who cared for him. When little Warrior was 10 months old, he passed away at our home from complications of hydrocephalus. Just 6 days before his death, we had taken him back to the hospital because his shunt had malfunctioned yet again. Because he had stopped wanting to eat, he had stopped smiling and he was not acting like himself, his father and I decided we would not go forward with treatment. March 22nd, 1999 we brought our baby home one last time. 6 days later on March 28th, 1999, our baby boy went home to the loving arms of his father in heaven.
The journey as a grieving parent has been full of many ups and downs and eventhough it has been 9 years since his death, I still have days when it feels likt it just happened yesterday. This last week has been particularly hard form me and I honestly cannot put my finger on why! I think about my little one often and not a day will pass when I wish things were different, but I can tell you he has taught me so much about love and life. He was an incredible little man and we were so blessed to have him as long as we did. I also look forward to the day I will be reunited with my son. I cannot wait to hold him in my arms once again! I've been thinking about posting this for days, but for some reason I have not been able to get the words to come. Eventhough I have posted this, I still feel as if I cannot explain myself well. So, for now, I will include this you tube video. It features the song, "He's My Son" by Mark Schultz. I first heard this song in 2001 or 2002 and I have loved it ever sicne then. This song really does say how so many of us feel!
