Pink Life Support

My time has been consumed by a tiny little girl and her tiny pink pump. YES! We switched from MDI (multiple daily injections of insulin) to an insulin pump a Minimed from Medtronic and yes she got to pick the color :) I don't think she would have allowed it any other way.

Now I had mixed feeling about using an insulin pump, and sometimes I still feel that way, but I can tell already that we have chosen the best method for her. She's able to have a little more freedom and not so many bombs of insulin. Or as the pump starter nurse here said "think of it as bullets of insulin instead of grenades". Which means before we would give her a big shot of insulin which tends to sit under the skin and all be absorbed at once which caused Little Miss to have very high blood sugar levels caused from the food she consumed then low's from the big dose of insulin. Now she is able to have the same insulin but with more of a drip affect so her body absorbs it over time rather then all at once. I have noticed a big difference in just the 2 short weeks it has been and while she doesn't' LOVE getting her "sticker" aka catheter or infusion set inserted(every 3 days) it certainly is nice to be able to just push a couple buttons and not have to poke her little body with a needle 5 times a day.

infusion set allows insulin to drip in via a tiny catheter - also allows tubing to be unplugged for water sport aka bath's ;)

And on top of all those good things we also have a live log right there on the pump so we can look at how much and when her last dose was, no more guessing, HEY don't JUDGE, we are insulin giving robots and it's hard to remember when your going through the motions on little sleep....do you remember how many breaths you took at 8:08am?! Didn't think soooooooo :) so now we know we aren't missing things and if I panic I can double check.

Now with all that greatness does come some bad news....mostly I can live with it cause let's face it, DIABETES SUCKS AND I WOULDN'T WISH IT ON MY WORST ENEMY.....MAYBE JOSEPH KONY ;)So the  bad news: well, there's no long acting insulin so if the pump has a kink in the tube or something happens, tough cookies, we are on high alert when there is high blood sugars(which are still happening, we have fine tuning to do) and my daughter is connected to a machine, all be it pink and small but it is still a reminder that insulin is keeping her alive and it isn't a cure but a way to manage her disease which in the past would have caused her a slow painful death! Boy am I glad for technology. We still have to check her blood sugar FREQUENTLY and at NIGHT (There is no true rest for me/us) and Finding a place for the pump to hang out comfortably on her little body is a challenge....hence another reason I am MIA, working on a great affordable juvenile diabetes pump pouch. I always find a necessary reason to sew even in the dark cloud that is diabetes. It's in my blood like a disease ;)


So there you have it! I am missing from blog land and or my friends and family recently due to a tiny pink life saving machine!!! Which I am utterly thrilled to have in my home each and every day!

Making Diabetes Comfortable

We have our insulin pump start fast approaching and to prepare Ava we have been having her wear the pump around to get used to it. The only problem we have encountered is bed time. She has NO desire to wear it to bed and I don't blame it's a little bulky for a little one and she sleeps like a tornado always laying on her front back and sides the one night we tried it I went in after she fell asleep to find it on the floor. Now mind you it will be tethered to her which in my mind causes a bigger issue! Having to replace an infusion set when the darn thing gets thrown across the room ;) so I brain stormed some ideas with her a pocket in her jammies....NOPE, a stuffed animal....NOPE and pocket on her pillow....NOPE a comfy soft waist band to help reduce the bulk....MAYBE plus she can wear it under dress's and what not so really whats the loss?! Nothing! We will keep trying till it works for her but she is pretty pleased with her Yoga band pump holder :D It was super basic so I documented how I did it. Just in case anyone else out there needs one and has a talented friend or mommy to make it!

Yoga Band Pump Pouch Tutorial

Supplies: 16 inches of knit fabric
Velcro the softer the better some can be really stiff I happened to have some cheap quieter softer stuff

Sewing machine and what-nots - Insulin Pump or measurements will help too - if not Ava's is about 2x3 and about 1 inch wide (it's a junior size)

Cut fabric 16 inches by waist measurement plus 3 for Ava it was 16x23" (20+3)

1: Fold fabric in half so it's 8x waist and sew/serge long edge (my sewn edge was the 23 inch measurement)

2: Turn it right side out so now you have a long tube about 8x W (waist)

3: pres seam open or to one side if you serged it

4: fold with seam on the inside of the fold Serge or zig zag stitch the short edges shut - now it should measure about 4x W

Serged short edges

5: place pump in side long folded fabric and mark along the sides from top to bottom to create a pocket so the pump won't slide around the whole waist band

Pins mark where seam is going for pocket

Leave enough room on sides to accommodate pump width

6: Sew the top layers together minus the area you marked for the pump

7: sew from top to bottom where you marked for the pump pocket - mine isn't directly in the middle as I assume she will wear it to the side slightly but anything works it will end up being a tube really ;)

8: attach velcro to the back making sure soft faces in, scratchy out, I did an additional soft strip to make up for clothing and what not being on or off

9: sew velcro to pocket area to hold in pump leave room for tubing to stick out I did about 4 inches on a 6 inch gap.

PS She actually wants to wear it....so far!

DONE! Sorry if it 's hard to follow trying to zip through this to make it to the new story time hour :D Please email me if you have questions :D

Twirl skirts, a little girls dream come true

Ava took a scrap and put it on Sunny's head and said "look she's an artist dog" ;)

I make: A LOT: and I have been holding hording this polka dot fabric for something fabulous for the little miss. And wouldn't you know I had plenty of fabric and just the right amount of black elastic for this tutorial: http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-circle-skirt.html

In case you are wondering Ava is about a 4t and her broke down measurements according to the geometry were 3.8 inches for the waist(22+2, don't judge she's got a nice layer of baby fat;)  and 13 inches in length =) The wide elastic probably should have been longer but I used 19 inches(that's all I had left) 20" would have been great!

This was super easy because I slightly cheated and opted to only serge the edges rather then trying to fold and hem a curved line(so frustrating for me but totally do-able) and fast. Fast and easy + DIY = ME!

She is so super excited to wear it too! Oh and of course twirl for hours....it's a weird thing she does daily anyways :) This tut was easy to follow, the math yes scary but really NOT that bad and I can only imagine how much funner this would be with an additional layer....coming up next ! Thanks Danamadeit!

**Actions shots**

Check out that hot pink hair!

<3

Barbies....getting to that stage of life already

Ava is on the heels of her 4th birthday and is really getting into imaginative play and BARBIES seem to be her toy of choice the last few days....maybe because she can talk her big brother into playing with her (I think it has something to do with barbie eye candy but gross! Let's just say he's s super sweet hunk of a brother!) She has a random assortment of barbie stuff all bought by her grandparents :D I decided if she was really into it how hard can it be to make her some non-scandalous dress's turns out NOT thanks to craftiness is not optional's tutorial! She is totally in love with the first dress I made and I see many more in our future. I made a few slight modifications but in general this is a great tutorial and definitely a great way to use up all my scraps of fabric! Off to find some shoes today for her random barbie collections to coordinate with all the new dress's we've dreamed up!

Lining up her barbies - so toddler and taking their picture :O so me!

what a GREAT brubba!

Muah! These 2 really love eachother

I'm that girl!

I'm that girl, that goes to estate sales and buys that funky old (oddly smelling)bedding and hides it away in my closet and until recent I feared my children would be selling it at an estate sale in my honor....well, I finally bit the bullet and cut into one of those bad boys and the outcome is simply amazing! I also manage to collect buckets of vintage trims, ribbon, bias tape and random sewing goodies for next to nothing. Which I also put to use on this adorable top! I peeled it open and read the back of the paper wrapping and I could send in  a whole $2.50 and 50 cents for shipping and receive a bag of trimmings for other projects, like for baby dolls and doll hous accessories....I am pretty sure in my previous life I was a 50's southern house wife sippin' on sweet tea and sewing up dreamy items for my children and their toys, because I can picture it all perfect in my head and I am odly ADDICTED to sweet tea :) so if your new to sewing or happen upon an estate sale, collecting vintage bed sheets is the way to start with out breaking the bank and maybe some day you'll actually turn something out worth while...till next time ya'll - OH and I am thinking of listing one of these tops in my etsy shop so if your interested hit me up and maybe I can accommodate your lil' chitlins size too! Did I mention I made the leggings too! Trying out that fang dangled knit fabric so my little lady has some comfy leggings these were simple and fit like a dream!

Vintage bed-sheet peasant top

Todler Messenger bag turned over night bag

so cute! my pic is a little washed out - no time to edit!

My intention was for Ava to have a small bag she could fill with diabetic supplies, snack and toys. Usually she carries around a used grocery bag ;/ which is fine, she's all re-use, re-duce but she's beginning to look like a little old bag lady these days and quite frankly she needs to be responsible for her diabetic supplies sometimes too! I am SICK of her handing me stuff to carry ALL day! I feel like a bag lady too ;) so I searched the net and came across a super cute bag http://tiptoetango.com/2012/01/16/messenger-bag-tutorial/#comment-522

I should have re-thought the dimensions(for my lil' toddler) but I didn't even question it till I held up the outer sewn pieces to her so now it's an over night bag instead. Which will be great for us when we bum our way into daddy's work things next week in Portland ;) So now this one is finished and I think I will be moving on to the one in my One Yard Wonders book ;p oy!

There is a couple things I didn't do to save time, obviously I didn't quilt the outer layers.....I did however heat and bond my felt and fabric together so it wouldn't shift.

I also didn't do any interior biz :) I did plan on it being reversible but didn't sandwich the handle right :O oops!

Thirdly this WASN'T a time saver by any means!!! I decided to make my own ruffle (I didn't want to have to shower, get Ava ready, prepare a snack and go to the fabric store just for trim, but the ruffle is what really made me decide on this bag....WARNING do get ready, get child ready, prepare a  snack, go to the fabric store  and skip making your own! tee hee! It still needs a button she has her heart set on a heart :) IF you do decide to make your own mine was made very similar to this...http://tiptoetango.com/2011/12/28/ruffle-napkin-tutorial/ I did 2" cuts for the ruffle....I know I just said don't do it but I love these napkins!

This WHOLE bag was made from bit's and pieces of fabric and felt I already had, so this could potentially be a great STASH buster project. Oh and my strap is about 9x33 which is way too long for her but great for what it is now, an Over Night Bag***

the interior of the flap

BIG Thanks to Tip Toe Tango for the adorable inspiration!  http://tiptoetango.com/

Love this Boy!!

Finally a little sewing for the boy and some super duper bribing for pictures but as you can see he did enjoy himself a little but to get him to commit is so hard.....Bow ties available @ www.adoremade.etsy.com (including the one pictured, soon). Working on a pattern too....stay tuned! Also working on MANUAL MODE practice makes perfect I suppose when it comes to DSLR cameras!!! What better way to celebrate a snowy day?!

Sunny loves to sneak up onto his bed ;)

So Studious

Rawk the Hawk

Look at those lips

Heart....melt......

Seriously no smiling ;)

Book Worm

www.adoremade.etsy.com

A boy and his dog....does it get any better??

See I told you! He really loves a camera all up in his face from his crazy momma!!

The Boys space themed 7th birthday party

Warning lot's of pictures ahead!!! We had a BLAST (pun totally intended!) But sleep overs!!! That's for the birds I NEVER want to do that again and in my opinion every one was well behaved!!

sign posted on front door

Birthday Boy! he chose the shirt :O

Favors:Milky way fun size, glow sticks, space erasers and other fun things :D

My BABY!!! Handmade paper mache moon pinata!!! It turned out perfect!!!

Cake pops: I used colored candy melts and tooth pics to create continents and gasses etc....

Shooting star cheese

Flying saucer crackers

Alien Head grapes

Rocket Fuel

"Meat"eors

Party central

The crew minus the boy - he was having a moment!

She dressed her self! I did make her some adorable ruffle space pants - no go!

game: Pop the alien -Green balloons with alien faces drawn on stuffed with candy :D

Some of them were extra tricky!

DOG PILE

Glow stick dance party!

Pinata time!

Gluten free cake pops: easy peasy - I use gf cupcakes from whole foods much em up with the frosting on roll them into a ball and dip in candy coating each cupcake makes about four which is great for her!

the moon cake pop complete with alien dude!

The Mrs! Me the party maker, cleaner upper, baker etc...

so much boy girl stuff in 1st grade its unreal!

Moon shoes!

Awe

Sweet girls no boys party would be complete with out them :D 

  

Logan and his BEST bud!

Happy Birthday to my little man! Your an amazing smart handsome mix of two of the greatest people on earth if I must say so myself! It was a BLAST to celebrate another wonderful milestone in my little mans life! looking forward to more....with maybe less party ;)

Enjoying one of his gifts, a book about space ~ me enjoying my favorite moment of the day with him....I adore the end of my days with this little guy, thought I should finally capture the moment just the other night! This picture is burned in my heart forever!