Craft Time: Adjustable Sun Hat

I have triplets. My babies are 6 months old now and it's summer here in So. Cal. This means glaring sun and triple digit temperatures from April until mid November, and retailers in their infinite wisdom don't make sun hats in infant sizes. So, after realizing that I don't have the patience or the time to make hats for my girls myself, I decided to adapt ones made in toddler sizes.

And if you're interested, I'll show you how . . . .

What you'll need:

• broad brimmed sun hat, with or without chin strap


• complementary ribbon (my preference is a grograin, but anything washable will work), no less than 5/8in wide and long enough to wrap around the hatband 2 times


• secondary ribbon (decorative only, enough to wrap 3/4 of the hatband, totaly optional)


• decorative buttons (count the seams in the crown of the hat if 4 use 4 buttons per hat, if 6 use 5 buttons)


• hand-sewing needle and all purpose thread (entire needle must fit through button holes)


• 5 or 6 straight pins (per hat), washable pen to mark center point (if desired)

First, find the front center point (hats with 6 top panels will have a center seam front and back). My hats have 4 sections but no front seam, so I lined up the 2 forward seams to find the mid point. I marked this with a vertical straight pin.

Now find the center point on the ribbon (line up ends and smooth) and carefully mark (washable pen on the underside) and attatch to the hatband with center pin. If you're going to add any other decorative ribbon repeat as needed.

Now, using the seams as guides lay out and center the ribbon over the hatband, pinning at each seam (if using a 6 seam stop 1 before the middle back seam to allow room for adjustment).

Sew on your buttons at the seam lines to hold the ribbon on securely, and using a single stitch, tack the ribbon down every inch or so between the buttons.

The hat will now adjust down to fit the average newborn all the way to toddler. Quick, easy and completely customizable, this project is only limited by your own creativity. Blue ribbons with sailboats or sports equipment could easily make a plain hat suitable for daddy's little boy, too.

Enjoy, and Happy Crafting!

A Simple Rant: Don't Pray for Me

I'm Agnostic.

While this covers a range of beliefs (most being that a higher power exists but is not worshiped, only recognized), my personal belief is that no organized religion, large or small, has it right. Too much is open to interpretation, and everyone views that wisdom through the veil of their own experiences and prejudices. But that is a discussion for another post . . . .

Since the birth of my triplets (well, since they came home from the NICU) everyone feels the need to comment. While most comments are along the lines of 'oh, they're adorable' and 'are they all girls?' ('cause the pink car seats and outfits are so gender neutral), the comments that bother me are the constant offers of prayer. Now let me be clear, I appreciate the thought and the desire to help that most people have and on the whole I'm very honored by their kindness.

The issue for me stems back to a conversation I had with my grandmother (a minister) earlier this week. She told me about one of her divinity students (training to become a minister in her church) who was given the assignment of praying for my babies on a daily basis. Then my grandmother shared how much her student had enjoyed seeing the newest pictures of the babies SHE was helping to take care of through her assigned daily prayer.

Well, that I don't appreciate. It is all well and good to wish the best for someone, but to take credit for my childrens' well being when you've never met them or me . . . that is insulting.

Prayer didn't find and move to correct the blood flow issue that almost killed 2 of my girls in utero. Prayer didn't catch the lack of growth in the smallest girl in time to deliver all 3 safely. Prayer didn't find the necrotizing cyst on my ovary that was days from rupturing. Doctors did. Prayer didn't keep my girls alive and growing in the NICU. Dedicated doctors, nurses and volunteers did. Prayer hasn't kept them healthy, growing and safe since they got home. I have. My husband and my mother have. Our friends and family have. We have done the feeding, changing, bathing, burping, holding, comforting, playing and everything else necessary to get these girls to where they are now.

So, if you feel entitled to credit for my childrens' health and well being, even though we've never met, on the grounds that you added them to your prayer list, it's time to re-evaluate why you're praying. My children should not be your ego boost.

And if they are . . . well, don't pray for us. Pray for yourself.

Arguments with Myself . . . Environ-Mentals

I have family members who are rabid, foaming at the mouth environmentalists (one of my brothers and his girlfriend, and a cousin as well) who strongly believe that everyone should return to organic farming methods and an agrarian lifestyle. Great. Wonderful.

Unfortunately, using only those methods (only natural pesticides, ie other bugs, heirloom crop varieties, and no genetic modification to the plants), and farming every square inch of arable land on the planet will only feed 4 billion people.

There are 7 billion humans on the planet.

So, my question to them is . . . which half of the population starves to death?

Genocide for the right reasons is still genocide.

I don't know about you, but my budget is tight as it is. My family can't afford to have food prices double, much less quadruple (which is more likely). If the food supply is cut by half (or more) scarcity will cause prices to skyrocket.

The French Revolution had a similar genesis.

The question then becomes . . . how do we feed 7 billion people in a more sustainable, earth-friendly way?

If you really want to change the world then you have to stop lamenting how things should be and find a way to work with how things are.

Well Hello!

I guess I should start with an introduction . . . .

I'm Vixi. I married my high school sweetheart, and we have 5 kids.

Our oldest (boy) was born in 2004. Our next (boy number 2) was born in 2007, and this year (2010) we had triplets (all girls).

So, that's 5 kids under 6 . . . and I'm not even 30 yet!

Before you ask . . . no, we didn't have help (no infertility treatments, of any kind). Yes, multiples run in my family (boy/girl twins a couple generations back), no we don't plan on having any more, and no we aren't looking for a reality tv show.

I'm very into fantasy and medieval things (art, books, movies, you get the idea).

So much so that I am a card carrying member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (S.C.A. for short). I even converted my hubby and he periodically dresses in armor and hits his friends with a rattan (think solid bamboo) sword.

So, with all the craziness in my life I've decided to add blogging ('cause I like a challange). Here goes . . . .