Baby Shower Favors for Crafters: Crocheted Mug Cozies!

November 2, 2018August 13, 2019

Baby Shower Favors for Crafters: Crocheted Mug Cozies!

I love being a part of the greater craftersphere of knitters and crocheters. If you love fiber arts, you’re in good company. And it’s stood the test of time. Knitting is no longer reserved just for grannies making potholders. People out there are proving that we can still make it and it doesn’t have to look vintage. People like The Hook Nook, Meg Made With Love, and We Are Knitters are showing the world that knitting and crochet aren’t going anywhere.

Homemade love is the best kind! It’s a personal tip of the hat to whomever you’re making for. They deepen the level of your relationship. Not only did you put in time and effort to make them something beautiful, but you had to know them to some level in order to make something they’d actually like!

If you crochet, try these mug cozies the next time you host a baby shower for a friend. If you’re like me, they’ll feel like a breath of fresh air in the middle of commercial America.

If your shower is small enough, you can choose yarn or customize them according to each guest’s style and what you know of them. The good thing about this favor is that you can customize what goes in the mug, too! Coffee lover? Try K-cups or instant coffee packets (or whole beans for those hard-core coffee cognoscenti). Tea her thang? Try tea bags and honey straws. Neither? Go for fun flavors of cocoa. You could even throw in a bottle of Baileys for your wild-at-heart friend. 😉

Materials:

Bulky (5) weight yarn (109 yds/100m). I used Loops & Threads Charisma.
H hook
1 button
Needle & thread to match your yarn
Dollar store mug (basic white is fine: they’re not the star of the show anyway)

Chain 15

Row 1: DC in fourth chain from end and across the chain. You’ll have 13 DC including the beginning chain. Chain 2 (this is your first stitch of row 2). Turn.

Row 2: [BPDC, HDC], repeat to end. Chain 2. Turn.

Row 3: [Skip BPDC and HDC, FPDC in next BPDC, HDC in skipped HDC, FPDC in skipped BPDC, HDC in next HDC], repeat twice to the end. Chain 2. Turn.

Row 4: [BPDC in FPDC, HDC in HDC], repeat to end. Chain 2. Turn.

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until your cozy reaches around the mug. Sew together on the top and bottom (the parts that will reach above and below the handle). Sew on your button so it reaches to connect the two ends of the cozies through the handle.

Fill the mugs, attach a personalized thank you tag expressing your appreciation to the baby shower guests, and they’ll love it!

Find a printable of this pattern here.

How does Marabou support women?

We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.

Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.

Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.

Start a Marabou Gift Registry!

With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.

Postpartum doulas for a first time mom

House cleanings for moms of multiples

Childcare for moms with older children!

Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.

More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.

November 1, 2018August 13, 2019

Moving After Baby!

Tips for moving with kids (how to stay sane!)

November is National Military Family Appreciation Month! One constant in military life is moving. We were lucky enough to stay in the same city for the first 5 years of our marriage, but typically, Navy families move every 2-3 years. Now, I can’t say much for the logistics of moving; the Navy pretty much handles the details for you. But still: Moving. Is. Stressful. And emotionally draining. Especially if you have kids!

I moved to Japan the month after our wedding, then from a house to an apartment with an 11-month-old. We moved back across the Pacific Ocean to Washington State with two kids, 2-and-a-half and 5 months old. Add kid #3 and we’ve moved back to the Midwest, complete with a long stint at my in-law’s, a massive purge, and garage sale.

Can I sit down now?

Moving is hard, but sometimes inevitable. Here are three things I learned to do along the way to ease the emotional strain and make moving a more agreeable and positive experience!

1) Simplify!

When you’re living out of your suitcase, it’s the perfect chance to simplify. The months leading up to a move, I purge! The less you have to move and fit into a new house, the better! Steer clear of the thought “but we might use it in the new place.” If you didn’t use it here, you won’t use it there. I find that as I’m preparing to move, even if I expect movers will be coming, I can see the things I never use. I purge again when I get into a new house; I keep a box for donations in the corner! When moving in, it’s clear what isn’t going to jive or fit well in your new place. Take the chance to get rid of it!

2) Take advantage of opportunities to rent or borrow

Have on hand as little as you can, and send as much as you can with the movers. This means renting books from the library and borrowing as much baby gear and toys from friends. When we made our trans-Pacific move, I kept zero children’s books and rented from the library on base before we moved. When we arrived in Washington state, I connected with a Navy friend of ours (who understood the process!). The day we flew in, she came by our room at the Navy lodge with toys and books! It was a life-saver, and meant I didn’t have to carry needless baby gear with me.

If you’re in the Navy bubble, fellow spouses are glad to help. Many fleet & family centers also offer loaner pots and pans (and sometimes furniture!). Check your base resources; these things are incredibly helpful!

3) Take a trip!

Because we are in the Navy, there was a lag time between when our house was packed up and when we actually got on a plane ourselves. Instead of struggling in an empty house with kids and nothing to do, we took a trip!

You’re already living out of a suitcase; might as well make the most of it! In our case, we had friends on Guam whom we were dying to see once more before we were too far to visit, so we kept things nice and simple. It proved to be a much-needed reprieve from moving life. We took a break from the stress of figuring out meals and an empty apartment to … well … relaxing on the beach with good friends and nothing on the schedule! If you’re close to somewhere appealing, ditch regular life and take some time off!

Moving is quite a doozy, but actually hides a few good opportunities, like taking a trip and purging your house! By focusing on those positive things, you can distract yourself from the stress and enjoy yourself despite the uncertainty.

Have you moved with kids? What helped you through it?

How does Marabou support women?

Start a Marabou Gift Registry!

With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.

Postpartum doulas for a first time mom

House cleanings for moms of multiples

Childcare for moms with older children!

Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.

More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.

October 31, 2018August 13, 2019

Postpartum Factoids

For most people, the postpartum experience is a mystery. We don’t realize the challenges, what it’s like, and – by golly – how long it lasts. I myself was shocked when I experienced it myself. I expected that since childbirth is a natural, normal process, its recovery would be simple, easy, and over by my 6-week appointment.

This, unfortunately, is not so. There are lots of struggles of varying degrees and kinds. It takes a while. Oh, does it take a while! Here are some other things that people don’t typically know about the postpartum experience:

How does Marabou support women?

Start a Marabou Gift Registry!

With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.

Postpartum doulas for a first time mom

House cleanings for moms of multiples

Childcare for moms with older children!

Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.

More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.

October 29, 2018August 13, 2019

Snack Packs!

I started to see a trend when we’d try to leave the house. When getting ready to take my son out to run errands or hit the park, I’d hear myself say every time:

I forgot to pack snaaaaack!

It became such a source of regular stress and I needed to fix something. Having to throw together a snack as I was heading out the door was too much! Getting toddler shoes on, strapping baby into a carrier, and cramming food into a container was not happening. So, I had to start planning ahead. I bought square Tupperware containers in a size I liked and bulk packed ahead of time. It would take me about 20 minutes to – for example – bag trail mix, slice cheese, make granola bars and arrange them in these containers. A stack of 8 snack packs would go into our fridge and I’d grab one each time we headed out the door. It was life-changing! No more rushing! No more frantic, last minute, what-do-we-even-have-in-our-fridge packing!

Snacking in America is the norm since we run around too much to sit still and enjoy extended meals. But, our snack world is filled with over-processed, sugary choices that are designed for extended shelf life. Making these snack packs ensure that we eat better. It’s easy to buy bulk granola bars, bags of chips or fruit snacks, but I just didn’t feel comfortable feeding growing children those things on a regular basis. This sentiment is hard to commit to, though, when things are rushed and I just grab whatever is in front of me. So, I put wholesome things in front of me via these snack packs.

When I have time to pack them – usually at night or during nap time – I pick two assortments to focus on and pack half of the packs with one and the other half with the other. Then, when I stack them in the refrigerator, I alternate contents in the snack packs because we typically go out twice a day. This way, we won’t eat the same thing twice. Option 1 might include trail mix, homemade mini muffins, and berries. We’ll eat these in the morning. Option 2 would include something like sliced cheese, granola bars, and baby carrots, which we’ll eat in the afternoon.

This consistent preparation has done me wonders. And I must admit: they’re good for me, too! I’ll often grab an extra one (or a mason jar, see here) for myself and munch in the car. Now that we have three kids, nourishing myself has become a little trickier and I’m thankful for the boost! So, even if you’re a pregnant mom-to-be or your baby is too little to eat solid foods, I recommend these for yourself. They are a healthy way to eat by simply consolidating your planning and prepping.

Happy snacking!

How does Marabou support women?

Start a Marabou Gift Registry!

With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.

Postpartum doulas for a first time mom

House cleanings for moms of multiples

Childcare for moms with older children!

Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.

More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.

October 26, 2018August 13, 2019

Postpartum Cultural Comparisons

Old Ugandan woman standing in her cane sugar field

I love that the world is shrinking. We have access to each other – other cultures and places – like never before. I first travelled to East Africa when I was 20 (a wee babe!) and it blew my whole world open. To see people happily living so differently than me was something I needed to see and experience. This experience, as well as others I was able to get since then, has taught me that differences are good and we can learn from each other. Maybe, even, we need to learn from each other!

As we’ve been developing our business, it’s been eye-opening to learn about the various lying in customs around the world. The thing is: it’s all mother-centric. It’s a foreign thing to me because we don’t have anything formal like that in our modern-day America. Most of it is about baby. Hopefully, we have friends and family who are intentional. But can you imagine being visited by your midwife for the first two weeks, like la cuarentena of Latin American cultures? Can you imagine living with relatives who give you constant care and warm-oil massages, like in India? Can you picture having others cook your meals, expecting you to nap while they bathe and dress your baby, like in the Ivory Coast? Can you picture a light burning in your home to honor the new life (what a ritual!) and having your midwife massage you, feed you, and wrap your abdomen, like in Indonesia? Can you imagine being banned for your kitchen until the cord stump falls off baby, like in Zambia? Can you imagine not having to introduce your newborn to strangers until six weeks, like in Vietnam?? It’s all so interesting and wonderful.

We could learn about these customs forever, but for now, we’ve put together a small graphic outlining the general idea of this throughout the world. Take a look, and maybe you’ll be inspired in ways to honor your next new mother friend.

How does Marabou support women?

Start a Marabou Gift Registry!

With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.

Postpartum doulas for a first time mom

House cleanings for moms of multiples

Childcare for moms with older children!

Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.

More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.