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So, is a crochet-a-long really a crochet-a-long (CAL) if no one else is crocheting with you?

When I saw news of the Lion Brand CAL pop up in the blog-o-sphere I knew I wanted to participate, especially since most "A-Longs" are for knitters. The pattern selected was for a sampler afghan, which is cool because it might have kept my attention. Of course I don’t have much of a yarn stash so I had to wait to get yarn until the spouse was in an agreeable mood. I decided on using a Bernat Berella “4” in a nice heathered gray. Typically I steer very clear of acrylic yarns, but it was on clearance. By the time I had everything together I realized that I was already weeks behind on the CAL. 

The original pattern turned out to be 10 blocks each of three different patterns. Meh. I decided to venture on my own, so I picked up Basic Crochet Stitches - 250 Stitches to Crochet by Erica Knight.

The book is well written and displayed. It gives a brief introduction to several basic stitches and how to read crocheting diagrams. It doesn’t cover every stitch used in the book, so I have had to go looking for some of the more obscure ones. But so far so good. As I near the end of a current square, I become anxious to start and learn a new one. With 30+ squares in this afghan it’s essential that I keep interested.

This color is more true to the actual color.

I definitely want to get my hands on more of the Harmony Guides, such as The Harmony Guides: Edgings and Finishing Stitches: 250 to Crochet,

and The Harmony Guides: 101 Stitches to Crochet.

They even have some interesting looking knitting books - The Harmony Guides: Cable & Aran Stitches: 250 Stitches to Knit. I do love a nice cable.

I figure that if it comes out nicely I can give it away as a Christmas present, and if it doesn’t… well, the boys wont mind a few wonky squares as long as it’s warm and snuggly.

Oh! And what post is complete without pictures of my helper?

Thanks for reading.

What projects are you currently working on?

I wish I could go back to sleep 3 hours after waking up.

I’m sure some would agree that it would be for the good of us all.

Okay, so some of you know this already, but I am 1000% for what I call "natural" parenting. To me this means homebirths, breastfeeding, intact gentalia, limited immumizations, etc etc. I feel that we’ve made it this far, thousands of years, without all the interventions and place a lot of trust in our bodies and the complex internal systems that keep us alive.

Every now and again I’ll run across something that just totally solidifies me in my want to avoid all interventions when possible. Here are some exceprts from "10 Homebirth Facts No One’s Telling You" on Indiebirth.com by Maryn Leister. Please read the full article here.

2. The US has the highest obstetrical intervention rates of any country. (1) The US is currently ranked 28th for infant mortality (that means 27 other countries have a better rate of infant survival than we do). 

• How is it that medicine is one of the most advanced countries, in the world, yet our babies die in such numbers?

4. You are very likely to have a c-section if you chose a hospital birth. The WHO concluded that there is no reason for any region of the world to have a cesarean rate of more than 10-15%. As of 2004, the US has a 29.1% c-section rate. This rate is up from 27.6% in 2003. (2, 20) (3) C-section infants also are four times more likely to die than those born vaginally. 

• 4 times! 4 times more likely to die!! Granted a C-Section is a major abdominal surgery but still. Why would anyone be okay with a C-Section that wasn’t absolutely required?

Both of my boys, arrived early and were hospital births because of it. My oldest son spent two weeks in the NICU becaue the doctors felt that my womb was not the best place for him. They felt that they could help him better than I could. In the end, the doctors were wrong and should have left him alone.

My youngest son was just in a hurry to get here. I was 2 days, maybe it was 4?, from being able to birth at home. Had I stayed home any longer he would have been and if I remember correctly (oxytocin has a tendency to make you forget anything coming from someone over 6 months old) my midwife stated she would not have sent us to the hospital. Although he was early, he was strong and healthy. The hospital kept him in the NICU for a week "just to make sure", fed him formula and pumped him full of medicine prophylactically. Had they known my water was broken for 10 days prior to delivery they would have flipped a  lid.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that any and all of my next childbirths will be attempted homebirths. You’ll only find me in a hospital if something is actually wrong and medical intervention is necessary. Sometimes I struggle to keep my mouth shut but in the end I also respect a mother’s right to birth how she wants, granted that it was an educated decision.

What were your childbirth experiences like? Is there anything you would change?

A couple weekends ago we rounded up the kids and my mom and hit up the Arizona Science Center. We had a surprisingly good time with a 2 year old in tow.

When  we would try to move on Declan would get upset because he thought we were leaving, not just moving to another room full of cool stuff to do. The Grossology exhibit was tons of fun.

Thanks again to Grandma Ann for gifting us with the membership. Hopefully it’ll cool down soon so we can use the Zoo membership too.

Check out the ‘Pix’ link at the top for more new pictures of the boys.

Where are your favorite places to take young kids?

When I saw this recipe a knew I had to make it. Elise of Simply Recipes not only has the best recipes, but some of the best food photography too. That picture up there? Yeah, that’s hers. My food never ever looks that good, though it tastes delicious! Macros, like those below I can handle though.

This was my first experience of working with tomatillos and there wasn’t much to learn. I do believe that next time I will try and remove some of the seeds before blending the sauce and more spice! I’m afraid to make things hot usually because of the kids, but they chowed like no other!

Chicken Enchiladas Verdes Recipe