Many of you know that I have been sick since August. It gets better and worse at times, but more about that later. I'm just mentioning that to explain why this post is so delayed.
HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY CAMILLE!
She is six years old and STILL into horses big time. Notice the red cowgirl boots which were an early present.
Think again! Even my five year old modifies the poses. In fact, I think she may be developing a whole new set of "five year old" yoga poses.
Camille's teacher suggested she keep a journal over the summer. So we took a paperback journal and decorated it. She chose the colors, papers, the rounded corners, the sticker letters, the ribbon and tags. I tied the ribbon and wrote "summer 2011" but that was about it. Needless to say, I was very proud.
It is HOT outside. H. O. T. Africa Hot!! So I decided to stay inside and make something.
I've been following http://craftgossip.com/ which is like crack for artists of all kinds. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see something I'd like to make.
This at MADE, particularly caught my eye. http://www.dana-made-it.com/2010/06/beach-towel-dress.html
So, despite being a novice at sewing, I attempted this, because well, the supplies were cheap and the product, if it turned out, would be very useful on my vacation.
It took me a while to get the shirring down. I had to send Anna back to Hellmart to get more elastic thread. I had bought some last week, but the worker in the sewing department for allegedly 20 years, told Anna today they had never carried the stuff. Thanks to the iPhone, I was able to pinpoint the item and Anna got it. (Steve rocks again.)
So, with new supplies in hand and a few ruined pieces under my belt, I poured a glass of wine, put on Bob Marley and all of sudden, all my shirring was even and straight.
I completed one for me.
And a matching one for Camille.
So, now I'm relaxing even more...and knitting, something I'm much better at than sewing. And I'm still inside, until it cools off. Which ought to be...well, November.
This is Camille’s Russell Hat.
She loves Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton. “What’s a sheep to do!?” she always says.
She asked for a hat like Russell’s, so I went on Ravelry and just knew that someone had done this before and would have a pattern. No such luck. What? No knitters with little children who love Russell the Sheep and want a very long blue and white striped hat? I find that hard to believe, but yet again, here I am looking for something that does not exist. Story of my life. So I went to Creative Yarns, our local yarn store, which by the way, rivals any yarn store in Atlanta or DC, and with their help, developed a pattern and bought the yarn. Several tries and weeks later...The Russell Hat. Not perfect, but just right. Camille took it to school for show and tell along with samples of wool in the different stages from right off the sheep, to dyed, to spun, to knitted, of course. Overall, one of the more enjoyable projects I have done.
Charlotte is a stray cat that Molly brought home a few weeks ago. I, of course, do not need another living thing in this house, so I kicked her out at least five or six times, but she always found her way back.
After a couple of weeks of this, I realized she was pregnant. So we became Charlotte’s foster home. The last time I had a pregnant cat I was 8 or 9 years old, so I did some reading.
• Cats can become pregnant as young as 4-6 months old.
• Cats can become pregnant as soon as 48 hours after giving birth.
• Cats are very needy and moody when they are pregnant.
Sound familiar? (By the way, a six-month-old cat is the equivalent of a 10-12 year old human.)
I’ve learned some other things along the way.
Turns out there is an old technique in birthing kittens that if the mother does not lick the kitten to stimulate it to breathe, you can “gently” swing the kitten downward between your legs to force out the fluid and clear the airway. WHAT!?! Seriously, that sounds as barbaric as some of the things we do to women in labor and delivery. Science only gets us so far. Doing things the way they’ve always been done, will get you all the way to crazy.
One information source made the declaration: There are no consistently safe and effective ways of inducing labor in a feline. Amen to that, and ditto for women! If only THAT was printed on every little thing a pregnant woman receives from her clinic, than maybe, just maybe, it would have sunk in by the time she reaches 36 weeks. I’m gleaning a little from the next lesson.
My kids have forgotten everything I’ve ever taught them about birth and babies. Being a childbirth educator, doula and finally nurse, I have always talked plainly and truthfully to my children about sex and birth and breastfeeding. However, this experience has taught me that unless you talk about it everyday, most of what you may have considered “covered” is actually “forgotten.”
Leaving things alone is the best way to get things right. In birth anyway, it has a design that works, if only we would let it. Almost everything I read encouraged the pet owner to NOT interfere with the cat's labor and delivery, but to be there as a "lifeguard" if something goes wrong. And yet, when we as humans have just as good a design on labor and birth, we REFUSE to believe in it. We judge it, question it, doubt it. Are there no wise women left who believe that birth is right, natural and best left alone? Are there no women who want swim with lifeguards? I could go on and on about this one, but I'll leave it for now.
While most sources say that a cat prefers seclusion, Charlotte wanted my attention in labor, so I sat with her, and petted her and tried to support her. But as any good doula knows, you cannot possibly prepare a female for what happens at the moment of birth. Charlotte became wide eyed as her first kitten emerged and she literally tried to climb up my arm. It was a familiar sight, one I’ve seen so many times as young, first time mothers climb to the top of the birthing bed to “get away” from the pain. The next time is better because while it hurts the same, we know what to expect and the panic is not as bad. By the third kitten, Charlotte didn’t even make a sound.
The children’s reactions to the kittens just exemplify how very different each child is. Cullen is squeamish and Camille is not. Cullen touched one of the kittens and then felt the umbilical cord. He freaked out and ran to the bathroom to wash his hands. Camille laughed and at 3½ years old, she mocked him with waving hands and laughing, said “I’ve got to wash my hands!” Camille picks up earthworms with her bare hands.
While Molly is imaginative, Camille is rather concrete. Molly is projecting personalities onto the kittens, determining little scenarios and trying to find names that fit.
Camille asks, “Is my kitten sick, or is he OK?”
She says, “I’d like my kitten to be a girl.”
Later, Camille thinks we should sing a song to the kittens.
“Do you know any kitten songs, Mommy?” she asks.
I reply, “No, that would be Molly’s department. Go ask her. I’m sure she can make up a kitten song for you.” And she will.
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