Update

Yes! It's been a long stretch between posts... and since the baby's been born, it's been a long time since I've had ANY time to make much of anything. In fact, I tried picking up a knitting project a few weeks ago, only to discover that the more I wanted to knit, the more my little boy wanted to be held by mommy and given her full, undivided attention. ;)

I figured I'd put some of the projects I worked on with links just for reference... and to get myself motivated to work on more once Caleb can entertain himself for an extended period of time.

During the latter half of my pregnancy I decided to pick up sewing because it was too painful watching everyone have fun on the surf while I sat on the beach with my crochet and knitting projects. As beautiful as the beach was, I couldn't help but wish I was in the water surfing with my husband and our friends.

One of the big projects I worked on while I was in the final months of my pregnancy was creating homemade cloth diapers. Wow... that was a nice crash course in Sewing 101. I wish my mom showed me how to sew when I was a teenager, but looking back at how I was back then (more focused on school and sports than on anything else), it probably wouldn't have worked out if she tried. Sewing cloth diapers is a great, simple project, though... especially since you get to sew (dun-dun-dun) elastic with casing! Here's the original model I tried: the Rita Rump Pocket, available (graciously) free online!


A diaper I made-- note the soft microfleece inner and the cute flannel print outer layers!


An early picture of my diaper stash... complete with homemade microfleece/flannel wipes from the scraps. :)

I first tried them on the baby when he was only a few weeks old (I believe about 6 weeks old... after his circumcision looked fairly healed), and they fit nicely with a small diaper cover (Thirsties Duos-- a very good and affordable PUL diaper cover for babies with skinny legs!) which allowed me to avoid using safety pins (yeowch!).

One fun thing I got to try was using the Wonderwash, a neat little hand-powered pressure-washing device that allowed me to wash the diapers a couple of times while using minimal power (basically Karm-powered!), water, and soap. I would dry it with a small countertop spin dryer, and then hang dry the rest.

I normally sun dry the diapers on our tiny little apartment... porch (for lack of a better word, since we live on the first floor, so it technically isn't a balcony) whenever I can. Unfortunately, given the design of the apartment complex we live in, we get very little sun during the day (normally in the early, early hours of the morning), so I end up doing some of the drying indoors in the bathroom... haha!


Drying diapers with my $1.50 contraption from Marukai Daiso. Woohoo!

We've been house-hunting, though, and hopefully we'll get (at the very least) a nice condo or townhouse in Encinitas or Carlsbad with ample sunlight for sunning diapers. You'd be amazed at how well a little lemon and a lot of sunlight can get rid of baby poop stains on a cloth diaper.

When I was about 34 weeks along the way, my OB-Gyn told me during one of the weekly checkups (they become weekly once you're in that window of opportunity) that I had a small baby. At first it seemed like a relief to me-- I mean, I gained about 40+ lbs (I started out at 98lbs) during my pregnancy, so I was certain the baby was going to be big... but then I realized that I bought (one-size-fits-most) cloth diapers that were good for 8+ lb babies, and a tiny baby was going to need smaller diapers. Thus, I started making newborn-sized diapers for a newborn-sized baby... and knitting wool newborn-sized soakers (that I found on a nifty little site called Ravelry)to hold them up.



Needless to say, I popped out a 7lb5oz baby who wouldn't even fit into the newborn-sized diapers when he could finally wear them (after his circumcision site healed and we didn't have to use aquaphore on it anymore). =P

....annnnnnd I hear someone yawning. Baby's awake! I'll put up more of my crafting projects soon. In the meantime, that's it for now. :)

(Modified) Pineapple Curry With Shrimp

This is a very easy favorite of mine that I make when I'm low on time to prepare a decent dinner. The key thing about this recipe is the Pineapple Curry. The shrimp is usually just extra in the end, as the super-yummy pineapple curry can honestly be used as a tart-and-spicy sauce on just about anything (we've used it in pork chops and chicken most recently). I usually serve these with green tea soba noodles that we purchase at the local Japanese market. :)

I got the original recipe from an impulse-buy cookbook I picked up randomly one day called Quick & Easy Thai Cuisine Lemon Grass Cookbook (from Joie, inc). I highly doubt that the recipes are 100% authentic to the very last detail, but the book gives very simple & basic instructions for making wonderful meals that are just about as good as the real thing. It serves its purpose, especially since I like to modify recipes to my taste anyways... and it has pictures not only of the finished product: it provides pictures of the ingredients AND of various steps in making the dishes. Great resource for someone who doesn't want to deal with super-complicated recipes but also wants room to be creative.

Okay... here's the recipe!

Ingredients

14 oz. (400g) coconut milke (I always use coconut CREAM instead..)
1c crushed canned pineapple
2T red curry paste (if you want a milder flavor, try green curry paste instead)
1/4c fish sauce
1 1/2T sugar
2T lemon juice

1/2lb (225g) shrimp, shelled and deveined*

(optional) garnish: fresh lime leaves

*I use coconut cream instead of the originally suggested coconut milk because I prefer the thick creaminess of coconut cream. The curry sauce ends up having a thick texture. Coconut milk is perfectly acceptible if cream isn't available.
**I actually used 1lb of shrimp, being the carnivore I am. ;)

The almost TOO simple directions :)

1. Combine all ingredients except shrimp and bring to a boil.
2. Add shrimp and cook until done.

Yes, that's it! All you need to do is mix it all up, boil it, add the shrimp (and cook it), and you're finished! Better yet-- don't add the shrimp... just use the sauce to coat some grilled pork chops or chicken. It tastes great all the same!

A very rough pic just for your enjoyment (the book has a way better picture with the lime leaves for a garnish and a super cool-looking pot... so you'll have to deal with what I ate):



We ate this with a very simple side cucumber & tomato salad... and used the leftover pineapple curry sauce over pork chops the next day with some stir-fry veggies on the side & rice. :)