Celebrate a Newborn Boy

Ahh, it's Celebrate the Boy Month over at MADE and Made by Rae and since my firstborn is just that...a BOY, this is going to be a great month. :)

Since my son just got a new parky, I made him some Beaver mittens this weekend. But left my phone at home with the photos. But last night after watching Glee and Raising Hope, I decided to make some mukluks.



What I was really excited about was that my internet and facebook friend Sabrina just had a baby BOY, so what PERFECT timing to do a CELEBRATE THE BOY post.



What does every newborn baby need? Why, Mukluks of course! Sure, people get blankets and clothes and all that jazz. But I like to make presents. And Newborn Boy mukluks are the best.

I will eventually have a tutorial and pattern on how to make these, but for now. Just enjoy looking at them! The ONLY thing that would make them better is if they were made out of Smoked Moose Hide. These beauties are made with Blue Felt and Deer Leather with Beaver trim.



:) Welcome to the world Baby James.

Challenge, Day 12

Best one yet.

Picture of something you love.

Do kids count? Or husbands? Or Saunas?

I don't know exactly, someTHING can't really be a person right?! I guess I better stick with the rules and do a thing.



So I totally LOVE Sauna's . But only if you say it right. SOW (like the female pig) - NUH. NOT...the way most of America says it. Like it rhymes with Donna. That's so... wrong.

Say it like a Finn. SAUNA!



I love me a good Sauna. And I love me a great Finnish father who built the one at our camp in Susualik. It is GRAND. In every way possible.

We also happen to have one at the place my dad currently lives, in Chickaloon. The Sauna I remember from my childhood. Both Saunas are separate buildings from the cabin and house with a path leading to them. They have dressing rooms and a Sauna room with benches and a woodstove, as well as a barrel of rainwater.


(See that green building in the background? That's the Chickaloon Sauna!)

And uh, the Sauna's I LOVE, have to be "real" Saunas. With wood stoves and river rocks all surrounding them like a nice warm hug. Birch or Cedar benches and walls and a concrete slab sloped to one side to catch the water you pour over yourself to cool you off. And no clothes. At all.

I don't know about how other people take Saunas but here's how we do it at camp...



The dad goes in and starts up the woodstove while the mom gets the towels and kids clothes ready. The mom also heats a pot of boiling water to take with her.

The moms and kids go to the Sauna when its not too hot and steamy, so the little kids don't overheat. The moms wash up the kids with rain water mixed with the boiling water she brought from the house. The kids get out and run back home. The older girls (about 12 on up) go to the Sauna.

The moms throw a bunch more water on the river rocks to heat up the Sauna. They sit there and talk about their husbands and kids. The moms sit and sweat and then wash off. They get dressed in the dressing room and go back to the house. But before they leave, they pour more water on the rocks to get it REALLY steamy and hot for the guys.

Cause they're dirtier than us. Oh, oops. Nevermind. So, the dads and older boys (about 12 on up) go to the Sauna when the moms and older girls are done. They sit there and sweat out the work they did all day and wash off with the remainder of the hot water. Once done, the Sauna doors open and we cool it off.

A few times a year, we go in and re-sand the benches, treat them and spray some disinfecting stuff on them just in case.



And that's that. Sauna. I LOVE them.

Challenge, Day 11

A picture of something you hate.

I'd like to take the high road here and say that I don't "hate" anything...or anyone. But I'd totally be LYING.

And that's what I hate. LIARS.

Oh and certain people who must remain nameless because God forbid I actually tell the truth about them and get it out there that some freaks are just that...freaky.

So, instead of showing a PICTURE of someone(thing) that I hate, I'll just leave you with that sour taste in your mouth when you open up your email and there's a crazy person saying stuff to you and all you do is LAUGH cause you know they're crazy and really what do you do?

Nothing. Cause just living your life bugs them enough to have the greatest revenge of all!

Remember my bart Danielle? Do as she says: Kill them with kindness. Oh...and happiness too!

Bottom line: Don't be a liar. Or crazy. Cause then I'd hate you. :) hahaha.

"You warm my heart!"

Ahh...VD, who doesn't love VD?!



And by VD I mean Valentine's Day. Duh. Get your head outta the gutter.

My girl, she loves Valentine's Day. She works hard on her valentine's and handmakes each one. This year we talked about getting something to give to each of her classmates that could be actually used and decided on making Hand Warmers.



Cause, well, the ambient temp the other day was -39 below zero and uhm, handwarmers are good up here!



So, of course, we cut them out of fabric and sewed them all up. She filled them with Pearl Barley and some Rice with a few drops of essential oil. (Don't ask me where I got essential oil from, I have random crap all over my house. We happened to find essential oil!)



After sewing the opening shut, she wrote (or I wrote MOST of them....) the directions on a piece of cardstock for her classmates.

On the other side of the directions was her note..."You warm my Heart."



For her teachers, rather than hearts, we made really long rectangles so they could use them on their necks after a long day of hyper kids all hopped up on Chocolate and Cupcakes. Simply heat in the microwave for a minute and plop on the couch watching Food Network. The moist heat pulls your stress away. It helps to have a glass of wine too, but I didn't think sending my 7 year old to school with a bottle of wine was a great idea.



After all the hearts were cut up and sewn I couldn't allow myself to throw away all the cute scraps, so I sewed them all together and made myself an iPad cover.



Sorry, no pattern. Just sew a bunch of scraps together, make a rectangle. Quilt it, sew a liner in and you're done.



And of course, all this work makes a little girl very, very tired. So you just go ahead and fall asleep on the dog. (who incidentally MOVED right when I got my camera, dang dog.)

Challenge, Day 10

Oops, I forgot yesterday. Oh well.

Photo of you and the person you do the most messed up things with.

If you know me, you know I don't really do very many "messed up" things. But I will say that one time in my life, I went with four of my friends to Vegas.

And it was fun.

Very fun. Enough fun to last me an ENTIRE lifetime of not doing anything "messed up" anymore!

I'd tell you all about it.


P.S. Yep, that's me third from the left. All emaciated. Ugh.

But what happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas!

Challenge, Day 9

Pictures of people who've gotten you through the most.

The most what?!



If you know me, I don't really have a "best" friend. I mean if I had to choose, (sorry gals) I'd choose Danielle. But only cause she's the bomb dot com.


Growing up the way I did. I needed an ally, she was it. We can pick up right where we left off.

When I was kicked out of my apartment with a two month old child and a six year old child...alone, I really had no where to go. Danielle kicked her son out of his room, made him sleep on the couch and boxed all my crap up while I sat in a slobbery crying mess on the kitchen floor. And she was 9 months pregnant at the time.


Kookie, she takes care of me...and my family. One of the best of the best!

She was my matron-of-honor and we have been through some $hit together! And she's the one who, when all I wanted to do was slash tires and egg houses, said, "kill them with kindness..." (And a lot of passive aggressive behavior!) I sure learned a lot from her.



But, woe is me, she ran away from me to make her and her children's lives better in the big city, so we only see each other when she comes for Wrestling Tournaments and I go to the city for work! And when she sends me AK Airlines passes to spend the weekend with her. :)

BUT...aside from Danielle...I do have some great GREAT FRIENDS here in Kotzebue. The ones I hang out with after work and like to gossip with. Really, I have more friends than this, but I don't have too many pictures of them, so you get what you get!


My uumaa!

And these are the chicks who have gotten me through the MOST. Which is a lot considering what kind of life I've had.


My real best friend. I've never met a guy like him...and get this. He chooses to love me!

And really, where would I be without my husband!? Maybe living with Danielle in her son's room with my two kids!!!

Challenge, Day 8

Pictures that make you laugh.

This makes me laugh because of the look on my face. Hahahahhaha...

Rule number one. Don't leave your camera where your sisters can find it.

Rule number two. Don't leave your pictures where your sister will find her camera, so she can post them.

Friday Fact. Me and my sisters are so very uninhibited when it comes to being goofy. We will roll around town not listening to music and dancing away in the car to nothing, just to see the reaction on people's face.

We will cross one eye and talk to people at the checkout line, making them wonder which eye we're looking at them with.

And we NEVER wonder where our kids get it!