A Long Week

Well, over the last few days I haven't been at home as much as I'd like to be.  Not only does that mean that I haven't had time to update the blog, but I haven't had the time to keep the house in order either.  Most mornings I have ended up going down to town with Mauri, so we can go out for breakfast, but then I end up having to find things to do until it's time to pick him up.  Going home during his physical therapy is really just a waste of time.  So, we basically get ready, leave for breakfast, and are out until lunch time at around 2PM.  Then, I make lunch, feed Eric, get him to nap, try to clean up a bit... 

Sadly, Eric hasn't been napping much when he's out and about.  To make things worse, he had a fever for a few days, didn't want to eat, and only wanted to be in mommy's arms or breastfeeding. So, things were a mess around here. 

Today crazy Mauri is out on the fishing boat observing because they have new "puertas," and he wants to be there while they try them out. (Sorry my fishing boat terminology in English is rather limited.)  I guess I probably don't have to write about how I told him he was being dumb going on the boat with his slippery when wet crutches, but when somebody has his mind made up...

Anyways, despite my complaints, it has been nice having a relaxing day to catch up around here.  I don't have to worry about anything except making sure that Eric eats, sleeps, and gets his diaper changed.  So far, we've eaten breakfast, gone in the pool, and now Eric is taking his nap.  I haven't gotten as much work done around the house, but I am feeling pretty relaxed, and I decided to take advantage of that and get caught up on the blog.  

Over the last few days, I have taken advantage of some of my free time, and I did end up trying the white glue batik.  I combined it with a shibori dyeing technique, and I ended up with this fish t-shirt.   I really hadn't put a lot of work into it, because I didn't have a lot of faith that it would turn out, so it could have been better.  
I decided to try out some with a different gel based glue, and a more solid bath dye.  Luckily, the shirts were cheap, and I even got some free t-shirts at my supermarket (buy two, get one free), because I ended up with a few that I don't like at all.  When I started to dye, I was afraid that the gel glue started dissolving away much too quickly!! So, I wasn't able to dye it for very long, and the colors turned out pale and blotchy.  Plus, I was supposed to soak for awhile with the fixative on, and I was afraid to do even that.  I also tried out a new white glue in parts of the drawing. (Mine was so old and dried up that it was hard to paint with.)  I've washed twice, though, and can't seem to get all of that glue out.  The other white glue came out easily in one washing. 
I wasn't happy with the shirts, so I tried fixing them up with a bit of extra dyeing with some blue dye I had sitting around still, but now I like them even less!! I guess the t-shirts are OK for around the house, but I'm not exactly proud enough of them to have him wearing them out around town.  ;)
I may try again, but this time, I would soak in the fixative first, dry, then paint with the gel glue, dry again, and then dye for a short period with my fingers crossed!!  Maybe, though, since I don't have a lot of free time right now to perfect it all, I should just stick to tie dyeing and shibori dyeing techniques for the next few weeks!  :)

As for Eric, over the last week, he seems to have grown rather quickly.  I'm not saying that he seems bigger.  He just seems to understand so much more than he used to.  Plus, he has been babbling on and on more than ever.  He never really talked much, but has lately been saying papapapa and babababa a lot.  For some reason, he likes to say papa with a Donald Duck-like, raspy voice.  I find it pretty funny, especially when it annoys his papa.  (Why can't he just say it in a normal voice??)  
Here are a few videos so you can see what I mean.