The Mama Chronicles

2 Days Left!!!

Sign up now for the little people swap on the road edition.  There are only 2 days left to get your name in!  It looks like it is going to be a lot of fun.  Don't be intimidated by the more structuredness of it.  It still is very openended and I think some may be intimidated by the making a scrapbook.  But, all you have to do for that is even buy a little flip book where you slide the pics in from the drugstore and lable the pics.  Or less if you aren't a scrapbooker.  I'm not.  :)  So get on over and follow the sign up instructions!  Little People on the Roadswap.

Wonderful Swap Received

1. Little People Swap - Received, 2. Opening, 3. Craft goodies, 4. Oliver Goodies, 5. What's this, 6. Book Goodies, 7. Lacy Goodies, 8. Look!, 9. Some Goodies
We got our Little People Swap Package today. Thank you so much Christy, Ella, and Paige! I must say it was actually a lot of fun to organize this swap with Melissa. I would definitely be willing to do it again. Participating though, was the most fun! (Go to the swap blog for more details!)

Swap Sent!

No peeking swap partners! We went to the post office this morning and sent our package to Ill. I sewed a lot yesterday. I think the fact that I actually completed a project has me unable to wait to post this until they get it. I have been sooooo tired an feeling queasy. That it is a big accomplishment to be done. My biggest project is still going well. We have reached that point where everyone tells you that if you go into labor now at least the baby will survive. COME. ON. Don't get me wrong I do not want to have to endure the grief of losing a baby. I feel really deeply for every mother who has. But, also I know how difficult it is to have a preemie from watching friends and I do not want that either. I would rather be told. Good going! Stay strong for another 13 weeks. Postitive thinking, here, people. I am trying to do this by picturing my baby only head down and thinking very strongly about not hemmorhaging this time. Because that was REALLY scary after Oliver. I go tto that point where I thoght it would be OK if I just let Ryan take care of the kids and surrendered. Luckily I had excellent medical help and when everything else didn't work my dear friend and midwife looked me in the eyes and yelled at me to STOP BLEEDING! And I did. There is actually a study that says that works. I didn't even have to get transported to the hospital. Although with someone who wasn't as emotionally close I would have. OK, sorry, this has gotten more gruesome than I meant. I could have stopped many sentences ago! On to the Swap!!!

Here is what we sent:

all wrapped up with yarn bows.

Here is what the kids (read Lacy) made:

Here is what I made, what this was supposed to be a swap for the kids? Oh, well.

I just made the frogs in the second picture. But they wanted to chill on their pads. They are quite fond of the job Lacy did.

Here it is with all the art supplies and stuff we included, unwrapped:

Details:
The cute bags are from Bend the Rules Sewing. This is the first project I have made from their and they did turn out cute and were easy! I had never done box corners or a lining before so that was fun. Or actually made a bag. The frogs are from Purl Soho (free pattern.) We may be making some frog lilly pad kits for birthdays this year. Or Christmas when you need an indoor gift. We used primed canvas from a roll and acrylic paint to make the pads. Lacy cut and painted them herself. With Daddy's help. This fed into our latest conversations about habitats. It is supposed to be a game. Where you stand in one spot and try to throw your frog onto a lily pad. Also included were beaded necklaces, and a melted beaded heart. I am not sure what these little iron together beads are called. We included supplies for the girls to make their own necklaces and lots of melted bead creations. Then there are stickers, face paper, and glue on eyes. We love these faces. We glue ours to popsicle sticks and use them like puppets. I also threw in playdough that we had left over form Halloween. We always give out playdough because then I don't eat the leftovers. I wanted to include something for the mom so I put in the book Every Mother is a daughter. This is the only new book that is fiction I have bought in a long time. It has good reviews but I could not get into it. I think that my relationship with my own mom is so broken that I couldn't identify at all with the writers. I hope my partner likes it. Because books deserved to be loved. I tried really hard to read this book. I also printed out the directions for the frogs for her. We didn't have to include anything for the moms so don't freak out if you are in the swap. My partner mentioned she liked to read.
Overall cost: 14 dollars (that includes 7.66 in shipping priority mail.) All the fabric I already have. All the art supplies were from our own stash. Then there is the leftover playdough (free.) We bought lentils to fill up the frogs, stickers for each girl, a pack of face paper, and pack of glue on eyes. The canvas is from a roll that has extra because I want to make this hopsctoch mat. So there you go. I will post what we get when it comes.

I don't remember if I mentioned it on here, but I got accepted to nursing school at Miami University (in Ohio.) I am going to start in August. Unless the baby ends up being colicky, or needing me to not be away for the 8 hours a week the first semester requires. Since then I have found out we have to buy a lot of extra stuff. Like a palm pilot! And then nursing stuff like a stethescope and such. Nervous, Excited, Accomplished, Scared, only 5 years away from catching babies as a Nurse Midwife, that's me!

(Technical note, I am uploading my pics the same way does anyone know why they are always coming up blurry on typepad now? It is not the photos. Does anyone do typepad with flickr? Can you give me directions? OK I fixed this by making my pictures smaller but I like them big so I am stilll looking for ideas!)

Little People Care Package Swap

(Note, this post is now the default opener. Scroll down for more recent posts! Thanks for coming by.)

You are invited to participate in a swap for the wee ones. The emphasis here is on the little ones (ages 2-10) and the idea is to send out a care package to help get through the end of winter blahs. Hopefully it will also help our kids make friends with someone far away while creatively constructing a fun package for someone they have never met. (If you do not live in the US you must be willing to ship to the United States! If you live in the US you can choose either international or domestic. If you are in Canada, you must be willing to ship to the United States but can choose to stay on the North American continent. But, there are mostly US participants so we need to implement this rule. Sorry.)

You do not have to pick out a theme but that would probably be helpful as you pick items to send. It would be best to stay away from commercialized themes like Elmo, Barbie, and such. Instead a good theme might be make believe, mail, library, art, etc. You can make, buy, or send gently used items. If you choose to spend money then the upper end should be about 10 dollars plus shipping (this does not include the value you have of anything you choose to send from your home or your the value of your time.) The swaps will be organized by family groups. So you may have 2 children and swap with a family that has 1 or more children.

Things that should definitely be included in your package:
A picture of your family or at least the kids
A postcard or map of where you are from or photograph of your city/ house
A note, either written or dictated and transcribed by an adult

The commitment for this swap is :

1) email your partner introducing your family and answering a few provided questions

2) one package shipped by April 1

3) either an email thank you or send a thank you card
in response.

If you choose to do any more that is up to you. But this is the minimum.

To join in send and email to megandmag(at)gmail(dot)com In your email include your name, the names of your children, their ages and genders, your location, and how you heard about the swap. The deadline to sign up is March 10 or when we reach 50 number of participants, which ever comes first. My co-conspirator and I will try to match up similar age families, but can not make any promises.

Some ideas are:
Art: You could send a smock and art supplies, along with some art from your child. You could include a portfolio case and some gently read books that have some of your favorite art. You could also send instructions for your family's favorite art projects along with the necessary materials.

Mail: You could sew a mail bag, make some stationary by drawing or stamping designs on paper, buy a bunch of 1 cent stamps, envelopes and other mail related items.

Games/Puzzles/Riddles: You could send some puzzles that your children have already put together (make sure all the pieces are there), send a deck of cards with instructions for different games, sew a checkerboard and have your children help you find a creative way to make the game pieces. You could also help your child write and illustrate a book of riddles to include.

Building: You could send some Legos or other type of building blocks, then include pictures of structures that your children have made for the recipient to try and replicate.

Playdough: You could make playdough and send some utensils and cookie cutters to use with it. You could have your child decorate disposable tupperware to store it in. (Check with the shipping company to make sure they will allow this to be shipped)

Gardening: You could send some pots and seeds (you could even focus on plants native to your area if you want), along with some books about plants or spring. You could also sew a gardening apron or tool belt.

Reading: You could make a book tote for going to the library, have your child choose some of their own books to put in it, then either make or purchase some bookmarks.

You could do a grab bag of unrelated items.

You can also have your child select some of their gently used toys, games or books to give to their new friends.

These are just suggestions so feel free to be creative. Remember to keep in mind the ages of the recipients. It is also a good idea to wrap up the things being sent so that the kids can enjoy opening up packages. Just keep in mind that this is supposed to be fun and every child that sends a gift will be expectantly watching the post for something in return. It is fun to swap between kids because they are so excited by the little things and notice all the subtleties. Whatever you end up sending make sure your children have a lot of the input.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions. I will check back and post replies.
*If this swap sounds a lot like the mini swap it is because that swap inspired us but we were too late to get involved. But that Mommycoddle sure knows how to put together a great swap!*