Weekly Links!

~ LINKS TO SOME INTERESTING READING, FOR WHAT'S LEFT OF YOUR WEEKEND ~

FAITH

-"The Battle is the Lord's" - a snippet:

God is God. He has the power and the plan and all will be well and jolly and good and beautiful in the end no matter what I do, but I can be a part of the jollification. God does not need me, but I can be there.

-"Family Worship as Spiritual Formation": This is one post from a really excellent new series over at Mere Orthodoxy.

-"On Family Worship and Failure": This is another.

-"Father and Son at the Cross"

-"Giving People a Chance to Grow"

-"On Acts 29 and Spiritual Gifts"

Family

-"On the Outside": I know this was written to make me tear up. But...it worked.

Fiction

-"The Speculative World of William Shakespeare"

I hope you have a lovely Sunday, full of worship and rest!

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

"Peace Attend Thee" blanket and cardigan

My sister just had her first daughter, and I had the joy of visiting her the day she was born. Isn't she a little cutie?

This could just be an excuse to post a slew of cute baby pictures, but I'll try to talk a bit about the knitting. :)

The blanket wrapped around my new niece is the "Alpaca Baby Shawl" and I knit it in Knit Picks' yarn "Imagination" in the colorway "Giant Peach".  My Ravelry project page is here.

This was a great pattern: the lace wasn't too difficult, but it was interesting, and there were lots of stockinette rest rows. All of that knitting joy, and the finished project itself turned out beautifully. It's a warm blanket, but since it's sock-weight, it's not too warm for a baby born in southern California.

The above picture (with the cute baby) shows the yarn's true color well, but here's one that shows the shape of the finished object better:

I also made a little cardigan to go with, but no cute baby pic here because the cardigan is more 3-6 mo. size, rather than newborn:

I liked this pattern too, and was so pleased with how it turned out, but I admit: I almost gave up on it at the beginning just because there were so freaking many stitch markers. It drove me a little insane.  (The pattern is "Sunnyside" and my frustration shouldn't keep you from knitting it: the pattern's good and clear; the frustration was all my own fault. My project page on Ravlery is here.)

But I'm glad I kept on, because once more of the knitting was done and I could really perceive the shape of it, it started making more sense and I think the zigzag lace down the front and around the shoulders is classy. 

One change I made: instead of a knit picot edging, I did the edging in crochet. Not only was it easier, but I like the look of crochet picot better than knit.

All in all, these were really satisfying projects - but the most satisfying thing of all was meeting the baby I made them for!  Thank God for his great mercies. 

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

Knitted Finished Objects: Wee Envelope Baby Sweater and Matching Baby Hat

I finished it in time for the baby shower!  And that is the very exciting news about this particular sweater.

I was weaving in the last few stitches on this sweater the morning of the baby shower while my daughter (who I hired for the occasion) baked cinnamon breakfast muffins for the same party. (I highly recommend growing your own 11-year-old gourmet.)

The pattern and  yarn links for this sweater are in this blog post, if you're interested in knitting one for yourself (or an expectant friend).  

I was pleased with how it turned out: the "envelope" neck opening really is perfect for a big, wobbly baby head.

I also made a matching hat out of the same yarn:

The pattern is one I've used before and you can find it for free here.

Looking forward to meeting the recipient soon! :)

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

Yarnalong: "Wee Envelope" and "The Winner's Curse", by Marie Rutkoski

I'm linking up with Ginny, over at Small Things, who says, "Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading . . . I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?"

The knitting:
The pattern is "Wee Envelope" by Ysolda Teague. I love how this sweater is designed with a baby's big, wobbly head in mind. Some church friends of ours are expecting their first baby, a boy, and I'm excited to be knitting a little something for them.

I also love the chance to pray for the baby and the parents as I knit. Does anyone else do this, as they work on a gift for someone? I bet I'm not alone in this habit . . .

The yarn is Loops & Threads Luxury Sock.  I like it because it has just a touch of cashmere (10%), but that's enough to make it noticeably soft to the touch, which is perfect for a baby garment.


The book:
I started this book yesterday, during my kids' swimming lessons: "The Winner's Curse", by Marie Rutkoski. So far? So good!  It's a typical YA spec. fic. set-up: we have our disaffected heroine, our mysterious hero, our weird unlikely society . . . but it's well done, and with this genre, that's what matters. 

I know I sound cynical when I talk about "a typical set-up", but I promise that I'm not. Writing genre well is hard, and I love genre lit. In this book, the writing is good and the setting is interesting and the protagonists are likeable and I want to keep reading, which thrills me. I love finding a story that pulls me in and this one does. I'm curious to see where the author is going with this plot and these characters and I'm enjoying the journey.

So, what are you knitting or reading?

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

 

This post contains an Amazon affiliate link; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.  (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)

Babywearing twins, part II

(Oh my goodness, look how tired I am in that picture - wow! Those were the days . . .)

The second half of my article on babywearing twins is up now on Baby Bellies - this one is about carrying two babies at a time - hands-free! - when they're not little tiny newborns anymore. Check it out!

Peace of Christ to you,,
Jessica Snell

Babywearing Preemie Twins

I'm guest-posting over at Baby Bellies on babywearing preemie twins. You can read the post here.

(btw, Baby Bellies is a great resource if you have or have had a premature baby, or if you're just looking for ideas for feeding your kids high-quality, nutritious food. I encourage you to check out their archives - they're full of good stuff!)

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Knitted Finished Object: newborn hat

Posted today because the baby it's intended for is now officially a finished object too! (I.e., I have a new nephew!)

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Links! children and prayer, forgiveness among the stars, and more!

The noted humorist, Anne Kennedy, gives an oh-so-true description of attempting to pray with young children. (And yes, the attempt is still more than worth it.)

Why I Am Catholic writes about Robert Downey Jr. asking Hollywood to forgive Mel Gibson.

Jen over at Conversion Diary wrote The Ultimate Burnout Survival Guide. It's really good.

This study on the effect of steroids on preemies (they're given to speed lung development) is a little sad, but I still say it's better to have the babies here and alive, even if the means were sort of hard on them. I hope that medical treatment overcomes this, but I'm still really glad my girls were able to breathe when they were born.

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

the more it stays the same

When you want to go shopping with newborn twins, every bit of preparation - every get-your-shoes-on, make-sure-I-have-the-list, does-everyone-have-a-coat bit - is timed so that you can nurse them right before you walk out the door. That way, maybe, they'll make it without needing to be nursed again before you get home.

When you want to go shopping with two-year-old twins, every bit of preparation - every get-your-shoes-on, make-sure-I-have-the-list, does-everyone-have-a-coat bit - is timed so that you can have them go potty right before you walk out the door. So that maybe they'll make it home from the store with dry pants.

It's not that you have to stop paying exquisite attention to your timing. It's that what you're trying to time correctly changes.

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

cheap diapers

Always a good thing, right? Just wanted to point those of you who haven't heard towards AmazonMom. It's a new program from Amazon where you can get diapers, disposable training pants, and wipes very cheaply. AND delivered to your door. And by cheaply, I mean those big boxes of diapers (size 4, 140 ct., for example - Sam's Club size boxes) for $25. That's an amazing price.

Anyway, I just used this to get cheap training pants for the twins, and I thought I'd pass it along. Hope it helps someone else!

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

my favorite etsy stores

This post is dedicated to my mom, who just discovered Etsy. :)

Here are a list of my favorite Etsy stores, and they are all ones from which I've ordered and been happy, or which are owned by friends of mine, and I've seen their products in person and know they're good businesswomen. I'd love, btw, if you shared some of your favorite Etsy stores in the comments - I always love finding new artists.

Etsy, for those who don't know, is a website where people who make things by hand may sell their wares. So it's like an online mall full of unique, artsy shops. You can also find cool vintage items there.

So, here are my favorites:

-first, my latest find: Just Pure Minerals. They makes mineral makeup, which I've wanted to try for awhile. (I'm not a big makeup person, but sometimes, thanks to hormones, you need the stuff.) This shop lets you, for $2, including shipping, try any four of their colors, and the sample sizes are generous. Plus, when I ordered, they threw in a lip gloss sample too. And all of my samples were very nice and worked well. I think I'm converted.

-next: Hotwired, who's based in New Zealand (gotta love a Kiwi!) and makes nose jewelry. My eye was caught by her Trinity knots, but they looked a little big. However, I got one of these spirals, and one of these tiny twisted gold hoops, and I like both very much.

-This is my go-to store for gifts for loved ones who live out-of-state: Broken Road Farm. She makes baked goods and fudges. Look at her site and try not to drool! She will also include a little card with your gift message on it for free.

-And here is my other go-to store for gifts: SV Soaps. When I ordered a gift from here, she sent me some samples of her soaps to try myself - they smelled delicious and lathered up well, and even though they were sample sizes, I'm still using them up. She also was willing to include a gift message gratis. (Check out her sampler gift set.)

-The items in this store are just pretty: Mary Wibis. I've only bought postcard reproductions of her art, but check out this hand-painted silk scarf. Or this blue jay platter.

-If you want cute, cheap, dangly earrings, you can't go wrong with Thrifty Bunny. I like these teeny pink tulip earrings.

-Duckingham Palace: cute knitted stuff, including dishcloth sets.

-Lullaby Slings: baby slings and mei teis. My kids lived in their slings when they were little.

BONUS SECTION: WISTS

Here are some shops I haven't bought anything from yet, but that I keep looking at, and will probably order from sometime (maybe when I have have birthday money). Alternately, some of these are shops that I look to for inspiration for my own craft projects. 

-Artyard Studio: the blues this man works with! I love the rich, cobalt-colored ceramic pieces in this shop. And some of them look really affordable.

-Timberstone Turnings. This guy makes lathe-turned hairsticks, inlaid with gemstones. They're beautiful. He often doesn't have much in his shop, because his are mostly custom orders that are bought by the intended recipient as soon as they're listed. But you can see lots of his work if you click on his feedback - almost everyone who's bought one of his sticks has posted an appreciation picture of the stick in use in her hair.

-Mairzy Dozy. I find her hair combs inspirational. She has an eye for what pretty things can be done with beads and flowers!

-ChicAllure. More hair stuff. Pretty, pretty, pretty!

So, where do you like to shop on Etsy?

impromptu baby gate

finished object and links

Another FO! I can't believe I've had so many so recently . . . I've had several projects I've been slowly working on, and they kind of all got finished at once.

This is a hat to welcome Emily's new arrival; can you see his name on the hat band? I did it with intarsia crochet:

And here it is blurrily modeled on one of my twins, so you can see the fit:

It was inspired by a hat in this book. I thought the shape (and the ears!) was very cute, and I thought it'd be cuter yet in crochet, with blue and green stripes and a name.


And, for your viewing and reading pleasure, here are a couple of links:
-check out what Ranee and her kids did on St. Michael's day. I totally want to do this next year (assuming - ha! - that we haven't just had twins!). Who wouldn't want to bake an edible dragon and then stab it with bamboo skewers?
-read this funny and oh-so-true list of people not to marry, by Anthony Esolen.

And, though it's a little late: happy Michaelmas!

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

biology may not be destiny after all

So, you have two babies. They share every strand of DNA. They have the exact same milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (And second breakfast, third breadfast, fourteenth lunch, etc., ad infinitum.)

And one poops every day, several times a day.

The other poops once a week.

You tell me this world isn't a mysterious and marvelous place.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

a second mei-tai!

Now I can carry both babies at once!

Here's the post where I wrote about making the first one, for our son, Gamgee. Now I have one for the front and one for the back!

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

a star baby blanket

There are some boys coming along, and this is for one of them - the baby girl hanging out on it is for scale:




I got the bug to make this pattern after reading this thread on craftster. Yes, it's an 80+ page thread, but I was nursing, and it got me itching to make one of my own, so it ended up as a productive read. And now I want to make another one; this blanket pattern is lovely, and does a great job showing off the odd ends of blue yarn I've collected over the years. I think the white cotton is what really makes the colors pop.

I really, really want to do another one. And my older two kids are each bugging me for a star blanket of their own, so I think there are more of these in my future.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

a four-footed nap

My monoamniotic twin girls, Anna and Lucy, are the one in 50,000 or so children that had skin-to-skin contact in the womb. It shows in the way they nap.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

It's a good thing I'm a Christian or I couldn't write this post

Why? Because if I weren't a Christian I would be afraid of jinxing myself.

Happily, I don't believe in jinxes and, guess what? The twins are beginning to have a NAP SCHEDULE. Oh my goodness. For two days in a row, they have gone down for a solid morning nap and a solid afternoon nap.

Be still my beating heart.

Of course, even though I don't believe in jinxes, I still might be announcing the arrival of NAP TIME a bit early. Two days isn't that long, after all.

But still. NAP TIME. How lovely.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Four Under Four Made Easier

On the homemaking part of homemaking through the church year, I thought I'd share a list of things that makes being a stay-at-home mom to four children under four years old easier. Some of these I picked up from smarter people, but I don't remember who all to credit. I don't have a ton of experience mothering this many littles - only 2 /12 months so far! - but I thought some of the things we do might be things other people would find helpful. These range from little, simple things that make life easier to deep, simple things that are indispensable. So, here's the list:

1. Clothes pajamas. This one I see to remember comes from Amy of Amy's Humble Musings. The idea is that you dress your children at night in what you want them to wear tomorrow. This is easier in warmer weather when they're just going to be wearing nice soft shorts and tees, or just onsies. So you have to change diapers in the morning, but not whole outfits. Honest, this is a wonderful, wonderful thing when you have four to get dressed and fed upon waking (not to count yourself!).

2. Slings/mei-tei's/other baby carriers. At least the one (or two) in the carrier is going to be happy. And don't just put the babies in them. Toddlers and preschoolers like being on mommy's back or hip too. I walked towards my husband's workplace to meet him on his way home this week, with the twins snuggled in the back of the double stroller, my son in the front and my oldest girl on my hip, sitting in a sling. It was a great time to talk to her, because she had my ear all to herself.

3. Baby swing. Mine's called a "Magical Mobile Swing." And it is. Magical. If putting Anna in it for five minutes means I can get the older ones down for their nap without listening to a baby scream while I do it, well, who am I to deny us that golden silence? (Honestly, I always feel a little strange about using a machine to calm a baby, but if it helps her fall asleep when she's really sleepy and just can't get there in this heat, or if it calms her down the five minutes it takes for me to get something necessary done before I can give her my full attention, well, it's a kindness, and not neglect. I'm sure baby swings can be misused, but used well, they're a blessing not just for mom, but for baby too.)

4. Menu planning. This means that I can make dinner a few minutes here, a few minutes there - even doing chopping a day ahead of time, if that's where I find time to do it. Because I know what we're having for the next couple of weeks, I don't have to do the prep all at once, but can fit it in to those odd spaces where I'm not nursing. (You nurse a LOT when you've two newborns instead of one.)

5. Audiobooks. Especially the Bible. I listen to the Alexander Scourby version (highly recommended if you're okay with King James; Scourby's a British radio actor who reads it beautifully, and you can get it on MP3 cd from Amazon for less than $20). I listen to it in the dark at night while I nurse the babies. It's such a good time, sitting there, feeding my twins and listening to the Word of God. Peaceful and good.

6. Pre-filling sippy cups. This is for the older ones. But I put sippy cups full of milk in the fridge at night and my oldest loves getting them out all by herself for her and her brother, and if I'm a little late getting breakfast on the table, the milk holds them over till our first meal of the day.

7. My husband. As Dr. Laura says, "Choose wisely, treat kindly." I recommend having done the first and continuing to do the second. If I was to write all of the wonderful things my husband has done during the twin pregnancy and this twin newborn period, Blogger would kick me off for using up all their disk space. But honestly, this time in our life has kicked so much of the pettiness out of our relationship. We just don't have the energy to get self-righteously annoyed at each other anymore (something I was much more prone to than he ever was anyway). Our fights now go something like this:

"I'm sorry, that was a nasty look I gave you."
"Yeah, it was. But I kinda deserved it. I just didn't want to do what you asked."
"Yeah, I understand. I mean, I really understand. I wouldn't've wanted to do it either."
"I know. Believe me, I know."
"So we both acted badly there."
"Yep. Sorry."
"Me too."
"Okay."

I mean, can you get more low-key about realizing you're sinful and owe each other repentance and forgiveness? It's great. Twin-exhaustion's being good for our spiritual walks. We're just too tired to persist in snottiness. It's easier to be kind, and I'm hoping the habit sticks after we start getting more sleep.
You know, a year from now.

8. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends. Seriously, don't just say "yes" when someone asks if you want help. Schedule when they're going to come over. And then seek out help on top of that. To quote Bujold, "I want three volunteers: you, you and you."
I used to hate to ask for help. I still hate it. I do it anyway. Why? Because I need it. I'm still not convinced that human mothers were meant to have litters, and that means, should God bless you with a litter, that you're going to need more than just you to take care of it. (No, babies are not puppies, but there are striking similarites! Chiefly: noise, mess and cuteness.)

9. Perspective. One of my mottos this past few months has been, "As long as by this time next year it IS next year, then I will be okay." In other words, as long as the 24 hours in each day keep ticking away at the pace they always have, I'll survive. If I can count on having one more day done when I get to the end of the day, well, then I can keep going. The idea that time might slow down is the real nightmare scenario, but as I learned during my 40 day hospital stay, everything does eventually come to an end. This is a great comfort during some very hard days. It won't last forever. And there is heaven at the end.

10. Prayer. Pray always, pray without ceasing. You cannot parent without God's parenting of you. Ask for his help, beg for his help, and when your prayers that they will JUST SLEEP aren't answered, pray for his help to take care of them and love them anyway. Thank him that they're here. Thank him for giving you food and shelter and family. Ask him to keep providing for you. Tell him you can't do it without him. Ask him to do it with you. Praise him for his inestimable love in the redemption of the world through our Lord Jesus Christ. Sing hymns to him through the day. Call him "Father" as you lay down to sleep at night. Mother of twins, of one, of more, of none, God alone can sustain you through this life.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

the kind of help God gives

At least, the kind of help He gave me.

One day (not last week, I don't think, but the week before - and yes, this is the first chance I've had to write about it) recently, I was sitting on the couch, feeding one baby with one arm and hand and holding the other in the other arm, which was hard enough by itself, when I heard my toddlers begin to go after each other in the other room. My hands were, literally, full. I was taking care of two of my children, barely, and was unable to go and take care of the other two.

So I prayed, un-eloquently, something along the lines of, "God, help!"

And somehow, I don't remember exactly how, within a minute, my two older children had come and joined me on the couch and were paging through a picture book for me so that I could read it to them.

I was still holding a baby in one arm, and holding and feeding the second baby in the other (which hurt) and I was using my eyes to read and my mouth to speak and it was very all-consuming, but I was taking care of the needs of all four of my children at the same time.

Which hadn't even seemed possible a minute before, when Bess and Gamgee were in theo ther room fighting.

So, I thought afterward, sometime when I had space to think again, that is the sort of help God is going to give me. I had been wanting to pray that he would make it less work, somehow. But that's not it, quite. Instead, he just stepped in and made it possible. I couldn't walk into the other room and get my toddlers while still attending to the needs of the babies, but God brought them over to me. He really did. I have no other explanation for them being in their room, fighting, and then in the next minute sitting next to me on the couch, helping me to read them a book. He heard my prayer and stepped in beside me when I was by myself and didn't have enough hands. He led my two oldest over to me, bringing them to where I could help them. He helped me.

So I feel like I know a bit better how to pray to him now. I need to pray not that he would take away the work (the hard work, the good work) that he's put in front of me, but just that he would help me to do it. To ask him to do it with me. Or maybe, rather, to let me do it with him. And he's shown me now that he will. "God, help!" is a prayer I now know that he answers. I just wanted to share the way that God has been kind to me, to praise him publicly for it. He indeed "gently leads those with young".

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell