The Journey from Shopping to Making

So what is this blog about? Let me explain...

When I was pregnant with my first child, Clare, 9 years ago, one of the first things I did when I passed the 12 week mark was go window shopping. I comparison priced, I listed needs, I listed wants, I measured, I felt fabrics, I was even accosted once by a shop owner who thought I was doing espionage for another baby store! I was determined to buy all the right stuff for my baby.

That was fun, frankly. And it allowed me to channel my hopes and fears toward something beyond my belly and the life-long responsibility growing larger within it every day.

But now I'm now planning for a second child (see my Stay-at-Homesteader blog for more info about this crazy once-a-decade decision!), and I'm going to do things differently. This is a different world, and I'm a different person. My husband, Sean, and I are a different couple, too. No... he's the only husband I've had, and he's Clare's dad, but we've grown so much in the past 10 years, professionally, personally, and as partners, that we are certainly going to be different parents this time around.

One of the biggest personal changes I've undergone in the past decade is my relationship with "stuff" and consuming, and with the credit cards I've used to buy it all. This change has come on gradually and has roots in my childhood (thanks dad, great grandma Reed, and Mother Earth News), so I think I come by it honestly. Now it's time to make good on it.

So, while we're "Trying" (our household euphemism for lotsa sex every month), after we succeed (I'm all about the power of positive thinking!), and once our baby is born, I'm going to research, find, and make, my very own self, as many of the items needed for this whole procreation thing as I can. And I'm going to write about it here, so you can do it to.

Let me know if you have questions about what I'm doing, need clarification of things I write about, or have ideas of stuff I can make. Also, if you make any of the items I write about, I'd love to offer a link to your information. I'm open to the fact that there are going to be things that other people make way better and efficiently than I can. As long as it's homemade, even if it's made in someone else's home, I will be thrilled to hear about it.

So... let's get making babies, and all the stuff they need.