Sign-ups will start at 12 noon (EST) on Wednesday, November 11th. This year, the sign-ups are limited to 200 people. Visit my blog at noon on Wednesday to assure your spot! I apologize for not being able to offer unlimited spots - it's just too much for me to put on my plate right now. Thanks for your understanding!
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being neighborly
I want my son to enjoy nature - to feel comfortable there, to respect its beauty and its prickles. I want him to want to be outside.
Perhaps I'm more relaxed about dirt, insects, and leaves-in-the-mouth because I grew up in the mountains on thirty acres of pure bliss which practically bordered a national forest. I soak up the sweet smell of decaying leaves. I'm transported back to countless childhood memories when the mixed scent of pine trees and smoke from a wood fire finds its was into my neighborhood.
I totally get it that you want to eat those leaves, little guy. They feel so crinkly, smell so earthy, and look so enticing.
While a nature table is a nice way to bring a bit of the outside in, I feel strongly that the best way to experience Nature is by being among it - within it, on top of it, below it ... rolling around in it, smelling it, and feeling it, no matter its temperament (cold or warm).
I try to make it a priority to get out with Finn every day. Not for a fast, calorie-burning, mama-paced walk along the road, but for a slow walk to a little wooded area bordering a small park. In this stretch of land forgotten by people, the deer have moved in, along with other many-legged beings which we tend not to welcome into our houses. So, good neighbors that we are, we go to visit them in their homes, bringing along a baby giggle and a knitting project.
And there we sit, in the dirt, listening to the latest bird gossip and admiring the beauty of tree bark.
the nature corner
Even before we welcomed Finn into our family, I knew we would never be able to have a nature table. You see, we have cats. Cats with a love of wool. Cats who, while the rest of us sleep, go around pushing every small-ish object underneath the couch to be lost forever. Cats who love it when I knit more than I love knitting.
A table displaying the bounty and beauty of Nature would just be a feline free-for-all in our house.
Rather than succumb to feline domination (as often happens), I found a solution in the form of a nature cabinet.
Ha! Try to open that door without opposable thumbs, cats! This little cabinet is open for exploration when both the baby (and cats) can be properly supervised. We close it at night and when the human sentinels are out of the house (when all kitty mischief tends to break loose).
After months and months of looking for a corner cabinet in my thrifting outings, I finally opted for purchasing the cabinet from an Etsy seller, Buck Creek Furnishings.
The knitted goodness you see on our shelves (and the Autumn-colored silk) comes from my wonderfully thoughtful Seasons Round Exchange partner, Nicole.
Nicole and her girls were the recipients of the little needle felted acorn sprite which I found here. Their package also contained a very special something ... my first attempt at needle felting.
While my needle felting mojo is nowhere near as good as the creator of the acorn sprite, I did have a lot of fun making my Autumn Lady tapestry.
Sign-ups for the Holiday Traditions Exchange begin at 12 noon (EST) on Tuesday , November 10th Wednesday, November 11th - mark your calendars and visit on the 11th to reserve your spot. I'm only accepting 200 participants this year due to the time-heavy nature of organizing an exchange, but I've also streamlined the sign-up process. I don't know about you, but I've already started listening to a Christmas song here and there ... one must do such things when organizing a Holiday Exchange! :)
... oh, and Tastebook friend invites go out tomorrow!
xo,
Meg
more cooking fun (and a giveaway)
As if we haven't had enough cookbook craze here in the past week ... (Which reminds me - make sure you send me an email at MealCalendarRecipes@gmail.com if you want to be my Tastebook friend. I've had a good number of people email me at my normal address, which is really hard to keep track of.)
I'm so excited to be in cahoots with the talented Rae Grant - mama, blogger, and author of two children's books: Cooking Fun
Rae sent me copies of her books, and let me tell you - they just make me smile. Both Cooking Fun
Since nothing goes better with a kid's vintage-inspired cookbook than a vintage-inspired apron, Rae is hosting a giveaway of Cooking Fun and I'm chipping in two Lola Apron patterns! Go over to My Little Hen and leave a comment to enter!
P.S. Did you know the Lola Apron won first place at the Iowa State Fair? How cool is that?
photo and apron by letterwoman
the mcelwee's kitchen bible
Ask and you shall receive! So many of you were interested in the recipes in my meal calendar that I went ahead and made my Tastebook public: The McElwee's Kitchen Bible - full of quick, healthy vegetarian recipes. You can actually buy the book if you want - Tastebook gets all the profit, not me - or you could email me at MealCalendarRecipes@gmail.com and I'll send you an invite to join Tastebook (free) and be my "Tastepage" friend so you can see all my recipes without ordering the book. If you send me an email by Friday, Nov. 5, I'll send off your invite by Saturday (I don't have time to cut and paste email addresses nowadays - I have to do it all at once by importing my contacts - so after Saturday I'll close shop for this temporary email address.)
Oooh boy, I love this book! I figure I'll rotate recipes seasonally - keep the current recipes in front and the out-of-season ones in the back behind the recipe card sleeves.
You'll find all sorts of recipes in here, but you won't find recipes catering to those with dairy/wheat/egg allergies. In fact, by the time you've read through the recipes, you'll probably think that I'm made up of 88% cheese, which is probably true. Some of the recipes are easily vegan-ized, though - and I have a fantabulous vegan roast in there, courtesy of my friend Melissa.
Okay - so here's what my Meal Calendar looks like:
Week One - Corn Tortillas, Mexican Rice & Beans; Stir Fry with Tofu or Tempeh; Bean Loaf and Acorn Squash; Carrot Ginger Soup & Beet Salad; Chana Masala with Lentils
Week Two - Tomato Goat Cheese Bruschetta & Baby Greens Salad; Cashew Chili & Cornbread; Gorgonzola Gnocchi; Tortilla Casserole; Homemade Pizza
Week Three - Tortellini Spinach Soup & Sweet Potatoes; Black Bean Chilaquile; Bean Burgurs and Salad; Grilled Cheese and Broccoli Sandwiches; Polenta & Kale Salad
Week Four - Baked Potatoes; Spinach Pie & Zucchini Moons; Egg Rolls & Fried Rice; Nachos & Corn on the Cob (Mexican Style); Squash Soup
Again, this "schedule" is flexible. I don't have to fix Tortellini Soup on Monday and Polenta on Friday - I can mix it up. We eat leftovers for lunch, and I also keep a fresh loaf of bread around, as well as wraps for putting a new "spin" on the previous night's meal.
Here's just a snippet of what's in my cookbook (41 recipes thus far) ...
... one of those quick and easy recipes from my mom ...
... and plenty of dessert recipes - most of them handed down from my mom and gram.
Bon appetit, mes amis!
autumn it is
Somehow, life got in the way of Halloween costumes. He's too little to come up with his own, and he's also too little to like wearing something that's not a cozy knit.
But, his Papa will be proud to know that Finn is a golfer this year for Halloween. What do you think? Will a little hat do the deed?
This little acorn sprite thinks so.
May your Halloween celebrations be memorable!
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I heard you loud and clear - I'll be back here on Monday with my Meal Calendar recipes! Design Fridays will resume (hopefully) next week, once a few other deadlines are met.
meal calendar
Some of you must think I'm a clean freak. Yes, I have a somewhat tidy house, and yes, I like planning ahead. My own mom is a housekeeper extraordinaire, and my grandma has the cleanest house in the entire world, but the clean genes have gotten seriously diluted by my generation, I tell you. There's not much left to pass on to Finn. While having a clean house is a priority for me, other things are not. For example:
- daily showers.
- folding laundry and ironing.
- keeping my front yard presentable.
- having a clean car.
Motherhood has left me looking rather greasy and wrinkly, but one thing it's made me more on top of is cooking. For a while there we were struggling with the "What are we having for dinner?" question bomb at the end of each day. Eeek. Pasta? Again?? I dunno.
Between the two of us, we do love cooking and baking - on our own terms. Which meant that sometimes we cooked and sometimes we didn't. When one or the other of us was busy, cooking was the first luxury to cross off the list, after the shower. (Eeew, you're thinking, these people are gross.) Not cooking is a real bummer, however, especially if you're like us and enjoy eating good food.
Enter our meal calendar. After having my mom visit several times and whip up some quick, gourmet meals, I was inspired. In order for a recipe to get a spot on the seasonal meal calendar, it had to be a bit fancy yet deceivingly simple, and quick to make. As in "Gosh, I can do this while tending to a potentially fussy baby over a span of 30 minutes and still feel like I'm eating really, really well."
The calendar is flexible - we cook five days a week and eat leftovers for lunch. This gives us the option of using the other two days to go out to eat or to cook an extravagant meal, something that we enjoy doing when we have no pressing deadlines.
I wrote up the calendar, doodled on it in an unintentional amoeba-from-the-sixties way, and laminated it for the front of the fridge. I've been at this for several weeks now, and wow, what a difference it's made in the quality of our lives. Grocery shopping happens once a week, less money is being spent due to the planning, and we feel better. Healthier. More relaxed. All that because of this psychedelic meal plan.
book sling for little ones
In the getting-ready-of-the-house-for-a-moving-baby, we put up a book sling in our living room. Low on the wall, this sling is perfect for displaying three to four books, covers facing out, for the infant and young child. Once Finn can reach up and choose a book on his own, I'll switch out the more fragile paper books for a rotating set of wooden and board books, which he can manipulate (and masticate) as much as he pleases.
My sling was made by the talented Megan of Penny Carnival. If you're interested in making your own, she has a great tutorial available here.
The tiny chair is from Michael Olaf. Our current favorite book is Alison's Zinnia
And look who I found when I looked out the window! Two cute boys enjoying an Autumn morning together.
it's the little things
When you walk into my house you'll notice a few things. Little things. Child-sized shelving, an area rug with pillows instead of a dining room table, a book sling attached to the wall at baby-height, and a twin-sized floor bed alongside a cushy rug.
It's all in preparation for the day, someday soon, when Finn will be able to move himself around the house on his own. Patrick and I have been working diligently - a little here, a little there - trying to get it all done before The Day arrives.
Notice Finn's "Changing Chipmunk." I suspect he thinks it's some kind of kitty ... but this kitty lets him put his mouth ALL over it - pure bliss, if you're five months old.
One thing we've done is re-vamp Finn's room, changing a few key things to transition the space from a nursing/movement area to a friendly place for a scooting/crawling baby. Since we finally got an area rug in our living space, we no longer needed the movement mat per se - so we took his changing area set-up from our room and are now using the old movement mat for a floor changing area in his room. I knew it was time to move the changing area to the floor because Finn was starting to be quite acrobatic in his movements - best to be on the floor while practicing such moves, and not on top of a dresser!
We got rid of his first floor bed, a crib-sized annoyingly springy mattress, and got him a twin-sized Sultan Florvag. Big improvement. He's now able to nap on his floor bed (although he still prefers the Moby!) and I can lay down with him and catch a nap, too. Since getting the new mattress, Finn is going to sleep in his room at night. We still co-sleep after about 10 p.m., as he wakes briefly to feed around then, but this set-up seems to be working well.
There are still a lot of pesky details to be taken care of: finding a place for the books not currently in rotation (we keep out four books at any given time), covering outlets, finding a daytime spot for his bedtime beeswax candle, etc.
Sigh. It seems like he was born just yesterday. However, I must admit that this growing up is fun. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I can't wait for him to start moving. The cats, I'm sure, will not be so thrilled.
design fridays :: the me dummy
Here she is! I feel as though she should have a name. Headless Hortense? No-noggin Nina?
Torpedo Teresa? Please leave any suggestions in the comments below. The funniest dress form name (judged by myself and Patrick) wins a Schoolhouse Tunic pattern. I'll draw a winner tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Also, be sure to check out SouleMama on Saturday, as I'll be hosting a pattern giveaway (and a special SouleMama reader discount, too!)
So yes, I now have a squish-able, pin-able, alter-able, drape-able lady in my studio. Looking at her makes me want to recite this poem, which has always been one of my favorites. I have yet to fit my cover to myself and slip it over the form (the cover is hanging behind the form in the first photo) but I hope to do that soon, with the help of a friend.
I went with the Uniquely You after some consultations with my sewing friends and elders, with the idea that I can also use it to try out draping, which is of immense interest to me as well. Many of you suggested that I try making a duct tape dress form (thanks for the link, Aileen!), and I have, back when I was living in Mexico. Perhaps I'm just not adept with duct tape, but my form was ill-fitted, flat busted (not me), and really prone to collapsing, even when I stuffed it with packing material. That said, a duct tape form is a really great way to make a cheap dress form in a pinch.
And here's the fabric, which just arrived. I'm going to make the first skirt pattern in the black hemp/twill. Onward I march, through the baby drool on the floor, to make a basic black skirt. No better way to spend a Friday afternoon!
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What a hard choice! Your dress form names are simply hilarious! I went with a name that didn't reference the Torpedos, given that, once I fit my cover to my actual body, they won't be nearly so Torpedo-y! The dress form's name, from Samantha, is: Acephalous Agnes! We'll call her Aggie for short. Perhaps this reflects upon my odd sense of humor, but hey - a headless, foam lady could use some heady humor.
stitch
The newest issue of Stitch is hot off the press ...
... and a few of my creations are a part of it! The Wool Wonderland Scarf and Baby Quilt/Play Mat were actually projects that were shifted from my book onto the pages of Stitch due to some space constraints. I was so happy to see these well-loved projects show up in such a mouthwatering magazine.
A little book love
Stitch is like a sewing book - 37 projects? This thing could keep my machine humming for quite a while. The project on the top of my list, however, is a Moroccan Pouf, an ottoman/cushion/soft coffee table that will be just the thing to put in my living room once the boy-ster starts a-movin'.
The scarf (which I'm wearing right now) is one of my all-time favorite sews. It's such a cinch to put together - just a rectangle of wide-wale corduroy and a wool plaid - and the ruched flowers technique is easy to get the hang of and becomes addictive (kind of like making yo-yos). I think several people on my holiday gift list might be getting scarves this year.
And the baby quilt/play mat ... oh, this is so nice, thanks to the softest wool flannel backing and velveteen binding. It's covering Finny as I type this (who is fast asleep on his new floor bed - more on that next week) and man, I want one for me.
In the magazine, they don't show the simple quilting detail on the back, which I like just as much (if not more) than the front.
Yes, this little quilt will be getting lots of use!
treasure basket
Finnian has found the pot of gold at the end of his rainbow ... a basket of household items of various textures, weights, temperatures and shapes for his exploration.
This is an idea I gleaned from How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way
The treasure basket currently holds: a salad spoon, a wooden spoon, a metal egg separator, a ball of wool yarn, a scrap of cotton flannel, a Russian nesting doll, a small fabric bag, a spice jar with sesame seeds, a wooden egg, a thick glass vase, a kukui nut necklace, a wooden scrub brush, and a felted wool ball.
Finn will sit in front of this basket for almost forty minutes, taking things in and out, touching them with his hands and feet, and putting them in his mouth. At times, I will remove the items that he has taken out and hasn't touched in a while, to keep the visual clutter to a minimum.
The treasure basket has worked its way into our morning routine. After waking, going to the bathroom and changing into clothes, Finn sits with his basket as we listen to some quiet piano music. Then - we're off on our morning walk to greet all of the kitties in the neighborhood.
Mornings with the babe are my favorite time of the day, even though they tend to start a little earlier than I might have chosen. They are so peaceful - so quiet - I can even hear the click, click of his two new teeth on the objects he is exploring with his mouth!
the picnic (& the potty) with mima and papa
When my Mom and Dad were here visiting last week, we took to the park with a blanket, lunch, a little green potty and a cute little babe for an Autumn experience a la North Carolina. Donning short sleeves and sandals, we took in the warm breeze and gently colored leaves.
When days like this one grace you with their presence, you drop everything and go outside. May your weekend be warm, if only figuratively!
design fridays :: measuring up
It was really hard not to suck in my belly to where I thought it just might be in two months, but I succeeded in letting it pouf out in its full glory!
Taking measurements is a time-consuming process. You aren't just taking the standard bust/waist/hip measurements - you are taking nearly 30 different numbers, which is why (I hope) my hand-sewn clothes will come out fitting more precisely than the store-bought variety. I couldn't have done it without a bit of help - thankfully my parents were here visiting and my Mom, an accomplished seamstress in her own right, was here to tie me up in measuring tape.
Some of the measurements are specific to the type of clothing you will be making - for example, Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified
I went ahead and took all of my body-specific measurements now, and I'll re-think the garment-specific estimated measurements once I start work on each project.
The fabric is arriving any day now - and I have to decide if I'm finally going to break down and buy myself a dress form. I've been using myself as a dummy, so to speak, and I honestly feel like a dummy when I poke myself for the umpteenth time with a pin. I'm considering getting a Uniquely You dress form - do any of you have any experience with it? It appeals to me because I'll be able to mold it to my own body shape and I can adjust the shape if my body shape fluctuates. Plus, I would be able to easily pin fabric directly onto the form. What do you think?
Have a good weekend!
Meg
if he only knew
If my little babe knew just how close the kitty was, he would have flipped out with glee. And then the cat would have quickly exited stage left. Sleeping, squishy baby? Nap spot. Arm flailing, fur-grabbing baby? Head for higher ground.
swatch me
In my studio, I enjoy the company of many 3" x 3" fabric swatches - sometimes contained in a wooden box, sometimes peppered around the table, the floor, or the walls like a wannabe quilt.
Swatches are essential if you sew a lot but find it difficult to leave the house to actually visit a fabric store. Baby? Mega-chain fabric store? Twenty minute drive? Meh. I rarely find what I'm dreaming about, anyway.
I do, however, find that NearSea Naturals and Gorgeous Fabrics never disappoint. NearSea has an incredible selection of soft knits, and Gorgeous Fabrics really blows me away with their selections of Italian shirting cottons and suiting wools. Plus, you can order swatches from them before you commit to buy a yard or more of fabric. Sometimes you can get a sense of the color of a fabric on the computer screen, but you never have a clue about how it feels. And man, if you're going to spend the time to make yourself a pair of pants out of something, you want that something to feel good!
Oh, yes ... I'm up to something involving all of those swatches (besides making things for book #2)! Have you seen Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified
But I'm ready to take the full-on plunge - and this is going to be a much-needed swim. There are twenty clothing projects in the book, each of which teaches you a new pattern-making technique, beginning from a simple A-line skirt and moving into more complicated pant styles.
And who is it that wears the same ripped sweatshirt and one pair of jeans day in and day out? Me! Who needs some clothes that really fit her post-baby body? Me! While I'm back to my pre-baby weight, these measurements of mine are just different. Lower bustline? Mmm hmm. Changed waistline? You betcha. And you know what? They just don't make clothes that fit the Mama Body to a T.
But I can.
Would you like to join me?
Design Fridays. Here. Starting this week ... a bit of creative design, a bit of sewing techniques and tips, and a whole new wardrobe at the end of it!
sponsor giveaway :: ec wear
I'm happy to have Marija of EC Wear as a sponsor - for those of you unfamiliar with Elimination Communication, you can read about our experience with it here. EC Wear specializes in WAHM-made clothing such as leg warmers, split-crotch pants, and tiny undies perfect for families with EC-ing infants or toddlers who are on their journey to potty independence. Read on to learn more about EC Wear and enter a comment to win a pair of Huggalugs arm/leg warmers that fit from infancy through childhood. Leg warmers are a must for EC-ing families, but any child will appreciate the extra warmth now that Autumn's chill is on its way!
From Marija: I started EC Wear when Jordan was six months old and I was very frustrated by the lack of availability of clothing that were both easy to use and not made in sweatshops. I found specialty EC products on line but most were custom-made by busy Work-at-Home-Moms and required a long wait or were frequently out of stock. I started by cutting up the clothing that I had, serging onesies into t-shirts and splitting pants. I then had my mother, a talented seamstress, start making cute split pants. I wanted to make it easier for more parents to get excited about EC by making a wide range of products available. With my background as a labor rights activist and union organizer, I also wanted to create a resource for parents to find easy-to-use products manufactured under fair working conditions. So I started an online store and have been slowly building up a collection of fair-trade or WAHM products that facilitate elimination communication. It is a work-in-progress-- I work part-time from home, as I am also focusing my attention on my son, who just turned two. EC Wear now carries over 100 styles of legwarmers, a variety of training pants and underwear starting at newborn sizes, cloth diapers, and the biggest online selection of split pants.
Thanks, Marija - leave a comment to win a pair of legwarmers (your choice of style!)
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Congratulations to Emmalina, who won a pair of Huggalugs! Thank you, Marija and Jordan from EC Wear! Comments are now closed.
new patterns now available!
It's official - the new patterns are up for sale over at my website! Orders placed now will ship on October 10.
The Schoolhouse Tunic comes in Women's sizes 2-20 and can be made into a shirt, tunic or dress. I wear mine all of the time because it's so easy to nurse in!
The Woodland's Shirt is a unisex pattern for sizes 2T-10. I'm really in love with this shirt - the button detail, the optional embroidered pocket for placing tiny treasures, and the simple way it goes together.
The Flora Tunic & Twirly Skirt in sizes 2T - 10. The tunic is simple and elegant in its shape with a pleat in the front, and the skirt is the twirliest they get!
All of the patterns are suitable for sewists who have just a bit of experience under their belts - that is, if you've sewn one or two things before, you should be able to tackle any of these projects!
Happy sewing!
Meg
parenting journal
A wonderful idea I found in this book:
My parenting journal - a place for errant thoughts, whims, ideas, light bulb moments, frustrations, questions and observations.
Because we all know that the mama brain works better if it has an extension on paper. Otherwise? It's a bit mushy in there.
baby essentials
Many soon-to-be-first-time-mamas have asked me the following question: What, exactly, do I need to have for my baby?
This post is for you!
The good news? Most of what your baby (and you) will need in those first few months is free. For example:
If you have one of these, you're SET. Oh, how I wish we didn't live in a rental and that we had the money to put in pretty fans, but hey, Finn loves them anyway. He talks to them. He laughs at them. I worry that, instead of speaking human language, he will just click, clack, and whirl in a rhythmic fashion.
But seriously.
I hesitate to give a laundry list of baby essentials, because what works for us might not work for you. Every family has its own needs and priorities, and ours are highly influenced by my Montessori background, our decisions to co-sleep and practice EC, and our budget. The bottom line? Do what is right for you, your family, and your little one. Follow your convictions, follow your budget, but most of all, (in Montessori-speak) follow the child. What your child needs is YOU - your love, your smiles, your voice - not stuff! Stuff can be nice (and very helpful) but keep in mind that you shouldn't feel pressure to accumulate it.
Also, do keep in mind that most of these items can be found second-hand. We have yet to buy new clothing for Finn, as we've been pretty determined to hit every Saturday yard sale in our neighborhood. We've found baby wraps and plenty of clothing. You might try looking on Craigslist.org for other, larger items.
That said, here's a list of what our family has found helpful in the first four (almost five!) months of Finn's life:
- the Moby Wrap. I've talked about it before, but this is our go-to option for soothing a tired baby. Daddy wears the Moby, and I wear ...
- a ring sling. I've found that it's easy to get on and off and great for covering up while nursing out of the house. Our current favorite is the hip hold - we get a lot done in the kitchen and around the house thanks to the sling.
- at least 50 pre-fold diapers. They are cheap, super absorbent, and perfect for EC backup around the house, worn with a diaper belt (known affectionately around these parts as Finn's sumo belt). Amanda Soule's book, Handmade Home, includes instructions on how to make your own pre-fold diapers from recycled cloth. We don't use diaper covers unless we're out and about (and we used g diapers with much success while traveling) but I'd say you'd need three covers to be safe.
- a dresser with the top drawers reserved for baby diapers and clothing. No need to get a special baby changing dresser - we already had ours, a mid-century-ish find from a thrift store. The above photo is our "baby care station" - a changing pad (with two cotton terry covers - one for the wash, and one for the pad), Finn's Baby Bjorn potty on top of a waterproof mat, a toy or two for potty time, wipes, and two burlap buckets - one for the 20 or so washcloths that we use constantly for cleaning up spit up, drool, milk - you name it, and one for holding my cotton breast pads.
- a water repellent wool pad, topped with a flannel receiving blanket, for sleeping on top of in our family bed. You can make your own felted wool pad, or buy one here. You'll need lots of receiving blankets. I think we have about ten. You can make your own by buying cotton flannel at a fabric store and simply cutting them to small blanket size - zigzag the edges and you're done.
- a co-sleeping pillow. This makes all of us feel safe and secure at night. Finn slept in a sleep sack for the first few months.
- kimono shirts, baby legwarmers, socks and hats. Finn doesn't really have that many clothes - figure that your baby will go through one, maybe two, shirts per day (depending on drool and spit-up) and two or more pants if you choose to use pants. I rarely put Finn in pants because we EC. We prefer to use legwarmers and socks to keep his lower extremities warm. We do laundry every other day, so we only really need about four shirts, two pairs of pants, and a few pairs of baby socks. If you don't want to do laundry that frequently, then you'll need more clothes (and more diapers, probably!)
- a wool fleece pad or lambskin, for hanging out on the floor, playing with toys, watching mobiles, cats, etc.
- several mobiles from the Michael Olaf catalog or made by hand. Finn loved his black and white whale mobile.
- Montessori baby toy set from Pink House Handworks.
- and, finally, a Svan baby/youth chair. We've just started using it with Finn (because he's just begun to sit up on his own) but we LOVE it. It is an expensive item, but we knew we wanted it and spread the word - several family members went in on it together to purchase it for us as a gift. The chair is so great on many levels - the tray comes off so you can scoot the baby right up to the edge of the table to socialize with you as you eat meals as a family. It's beautifully made of wood. Perhaps its biggest selling point for us was that it converts into a toddler and youth chair which the older child can get in and out of himself with the aid of a step/foot rest.
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