Healing

I will admit that I haven’t had much time for television and haven’t been ready to fully look into the tragedy that is Haiti right now.  I’ve been taking in bits and pieces from other bloggers and what they are sharing is all that I can handle for now.  I do want to share one way that I am helping.  I know that it is small, but it’s what I can do right now with the little energy I have of late. Scratch that.  I can’t text.  My phone is broken.  Well, here’s a very simple way that You can help, if you have a working cell phone.  You can text ‘haiti’ to the Red Cross at 90999 and they will charge you $10 on your next phone bill.  How easy is that?  Now, donating through text messages usually takes a while, but I just read an article that cites Verizon and Sprint are speeding up the process to get the money there asap.  AT&T is working on doing this as well, but aren’t as quick just yet.  I hope they get it together and make this happen!  Personal update:  I just gave a small donation to Doctors Without Borders via their website.  Even if you can only give $1, it helps!

What a somber mood I’ve been in.  Our 2010 has been full of bumps and bruises, cuts and burns..  My sweet boys are sure working their way through some tough endurance testing lately.  Both are currently sick, with Aidan taking the worst of it.  It’s days like today that I am so very thankful that I still nurse him.  Yes, he’s nearly 3 and he still breastfeeds.  He will wean when he’s ready.  He doesn’t rely on it for his only sustenance, but over these last two days, it’s the only thing he can keep down.  We’ve been doing lots of cuddling, napping, and comforting around here.  Little Ollie only has some congestion, but is still slowed down some.  He’s been quite a sport in letting me tend to Aidan as much as I can, though.

In the pic above, my little guy is getting some much needed rest.  The green thing on his chest is his ‘healing pillow’ that we made for him together back in November.  The pattern is the eye pillow from Soulemama’s Handmade Home book.   I made a few others for friends, but this was the first one that I finished and he swiped it up and claimed it as his own. Of course, he  did help to make it.  I gave him a big bowl, a funnel, a measuring cup, rice, and herbs.  He loves pouring and mixing, so this was right up his alley.  I would measure the rice out and he would pour it into the bowl.  We then mixed in some lavender and chamomile.  He helped me fill up each bag and really enjoyed using the funnel.  I used a soft jersey knit that I had leftover from making some pants for one of Aidan’s buddies.  It’s worked out nicely, but after he got a bit of mess on it yesterday, I realized that more than one cover would be prudent.  Lucky for me, we had a thrifted 100% cashmere sweater on hand.  Yup, we felted and cut that baby up.  I plan to sew it up tomorrow for Aidan.  He loves how soft it is and you can bet that if there is anything I can do to make him the tiniest bit more comfortable, I will.  I am hoping that the wool will give the added benefit of being a bit more water resistant.  If I find that it isn’t, I’ll go ahead and lanolize it the next time I need to wash it.

These past few days have really brought home to me how important handmade/homemade items can be.  I hope that my boys remember and continue to be immersed in a childhood filled with lovingly made comforts.  I’ve been using the small quilt that I made for Oliver to wrap Aidan up in as I rock him.  I’ve used it to keep him warm while other sheets are washing and to keep his healing pillow close to his body.  He’s become quite attached to both objects now and it comforts me to see how they bring a little extra comfort to him.

I have been thinking for a while about an ‘official’ New Year’s resolution.  I have so many mini-goals for the year ahead, but none seemed to be something that I wanted to really set in stone.  Finally, I have figured it out.  I want to send one handmade item to someone in need each month. I am going to start with craft hope’s Red Scarf project for foster teens.  I have a lot on my crafty to-do list right now, but I will make this happen.