Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
At Long Last
I feel like I am finally home again. I can finally be "normal" again. Today was the perfect day for me - filled with the things that I have most been missing in this past school year.
We woke up at 7 (well, a few of us woke up a little earlier than that and needed a reminder or two to get back in the beds and zip it). We had scripture study and got dressed and had breakfast on our usual "school day" routine. We giggled when our "Almost Time For The Bus" alarm went off on my phone. But then ... *sigh of contentment*... the freedom began. There was nowhere to be! The kids watched a little TV and drew and played together while Richard and I got a few things done. I got dressed for the gym, but then didn't rush off right that second. Sammy finished his nap. We went to the gym, but in no rush. I didn't look at the clock at the gym. It didn't matter! We had a leisurely naptime. I realized I needed to grocery shop but that I couldn't do that and have dinner on the table at the usual time. Who cares? We went grocery shopping. In no rush! We got home, made dinner, and ate it way later than usual. At 7pm, the kids usual bedtime, we started our Family Home Evening of a walk/bike ride to the park.
I know this sounds like the most boring day ever, but I have really, really, really missed days like this. Days where I can just do my thing. Days where I can change the schedule without adjusting logistics for three other things. Days where I can go to the gym. Days where I can just be me, being the Mom.
Heaven!
We woke up at 7 (well, a few of us woke up a little earlier than that and needed a reminder or two to get back in the beds and zip it). We had scripture study and got dressed and had breakfast on our usual "school day" routine. We giggled when our "Almost Time For The Bus" alarm went off on my phone. But then ... *sigh of contentment*... the freedom began. There was nowhere to be! The kids watched a little TV and drew and played together while Richard and I got a few things done. I got dressed for the gym, but then didn't rush off right that second. Sammy finished his nap. We went to the gym, but in no rush. I didn't look at the clock at the gym. It didn't matter! We had a leisurely naptime. I realized I needed to grocery shop but that I couldn't do that and have dinner on the table at the usual time. Who cares? We went grocery shopping. In no rush! We got home, made dinner, and ate it way later than usual. At 7pm, the kids usual bedtime, we started our Family Home Evening of a walk/bike ride to the park.
I know this sounds like the most boring day ever, but I have really, really, really missed days like this. Days where I can just do my thing. Days where I can change the schedule without adjusting logistics for three other things. Days where I can go to the gym. Days where I can just be me, being the Mom.
Heaven!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Last Day of School
The kids finished school for the year on Friday. We celebrated by inviting all the neighborhood kids over for a backyard party. There was a table full of cookies and candies, a water balloon fight (150 balloons gone in less than 30 seconds), swinging on the new swingset, beachball volleyball, and general choas. I think we had close to 30 kids and 8 parents here at the height of it!
So Goodbye to 2nd grade for Naomi, Kindergarten for Asher, and Preschool for Isaiah. Next year all three big kids will be in Elementary school!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Preschool Graduation
After 4 straight years of one or two of our kids going to KUC Preschool, this graduation was a little sentimental to me. As Isaiah marched across the stage, pausing for a photo opp with his cheesy grin and a thumbs up, it seemed like a shadow of things to come. Sammy won't be in Preschool for at least two more years. Naomi will be marching across a similar but larger stage of her own in 10 years. Often in Motherhood time slows to a snails crawl, but suddenly those 10 years seem like they might be really short.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Progress Report
Asher is finally hitting that Kindergarten sweet spot where suddenly I look at his work he brings home and think, "Wait, is this really MY sons?" His writing is legible and mostly in a line and sized right. He can read, he just still won't believe he can. He's doing so great!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Naomi's Got Talent
And then she blew me away.
This is a pretty bad little video since I missed the first few seconds and you can't even hear the piano. But you sure can hear Naomi. She was not one bit shy or even nervous ahead of time. That girl has way more moxie than I gave her credit for! She stepped right up to that microphone, and belted that song out like a rock star. I admit it, I teared up with pride. She really just blew me away.
Roadrunners sure do "got talent"!!!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Garage sale
I joined in a neighborhood garage sale this weekend. All by myself. Richard was working so I managed the sale and four children simultaneously. I'm pretty proud that I lived through it.
I made a little money, cleaned out a lot of clutter, and sold the big cordouroy chair and ottoman that no longer have a place here since we got the new couch and recliner (blog post coming soon about that!).
I'm glad I did it, but it reminded me how much I hate garage sales. Some of the people who come seem to think that I'm giving this stuff away. Which is just not true. I put a price tag on it for a reason! No I will not sell you that lawn mower marked "$75" for $20!!!
But we did score this fooseball table from a neighbor for $5! She asked for $3.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Easter
We had such a fun Easter weekend. Richard's brother Bryan and family came into town which really upped the fun factor! The kids spent all day Saturday playing with cousins and Aunts and Uncles and Grandma and Grandpa. They did an egg hunt at Aunt Kelly's, they went to the Air & Space Museum, they ate dinner at Cafe Rio, then they played more at Grandma and Grandpa's. Sammy and I joined them around dinner time - we were waiting for furniture deliveries and letting Sammy nap through his bad cold. Sunday we all had a seriously yummy dinner at Kelly's again and had some more time to play and chat. It was all great!
The official Easter pictures were a little rushed (I think they always are!). There was an uncooperative toddler, and Isaiah decided he didn't want to wear a tie and threw a huge fit. But the good news is that Asher had enough style to spare and Naomi was as demure as ever. Plus Sammy somehow managed to look dapper while standing behind everybody in the middle of the flower bed.
Posers.
Poor poutey boy whose mother buys him new clothes.
Adorable baby - even with a snotty nose and watery eyes.
It was a great Easter and a great weekend after Spring Break!
The official Easter pictures were a little rushed (I think they always are!). There was an uncooperative toddler, and Isaiah decided he didn't want to wear a tie and threw a huge fit. But the good news is that Asher had enough style to spare and Naomi was as demure as ever. Plus Sammy somehow managed to look dapper while standing behind everybody in the middle of the flower bed.
Posers.
Poor poutey boy whose mother buys him new clothes.
Adorable baby - even with a snotty nose and watery eyes.
It was a great Easter and a great weekend after Spring Break!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sofa Drama
Three years ago we bought a sofa at JCPenney. It was lovely. You've probably seen it in multiple pictures on this blog. It was blue plaid. It was cheery. It was not boring. I loved it.
But alas, the fabric was already worn completely through on the edges. Luckily, we bought the warranty. So getting a new sofa was as easy as going to JCPenney and choosing a new one.
Or so they said.
Here's where I do a little "aside" rant about the problem with sofa's - I'll try to be brief. The problem with sofa's is that they're all just variations of the same drab sofa. Beige. I hate beige. And the problem with me having these strong feelings about sofa's is that it makes choosing a sofa rather difficult. OK, rant done.
So we went to JCP on a Saturday - me, Richard, and all four of our crazy children. We chose a sofa that we thought maybe we could live with, but then changed our mind and got a leather recliner instead. Then we went to another store and, after much negotiating - between Richard and I about sofa's and between the children and I about their behavior staying decent for a few more minutes - chose a dark blue sofa.
The next Saturday the recliner and sofa were delivered. Funny story - one store told me they'd deliver between 8 and 10 am. The other store told me they'd deliver between 12 and 2 pm. Then both trucks showed up at the same time - 11:15am. The recliner is fabulous. Richard is thrilled to have a leather recliner, it saves space in the room to have a recliner instead of an ottoman, and I don't hate it. The sofa, however, was a black hole in the family room. It was WAY too dark. I tried to like it, I really did. I thought maybe orange accents would help cheer it up. They didn't.
Seriously - look at that picture that I took in the store (above) and then compare it to this one (below). It looks so much darker in my family room. It looks practically black!
I just couldn't make myself like it.
So back to the store I went. It took some patience and some repetition of my carefully planned flirty whining, but in the end they let me return the sofa for only a "restocking fee".
But then I still had to choose a NEW new sofa. *sigh* I finally chose a much lighter blue sofa that I thought would be great. But I was questioning myself so much, plus having that dark blue sofa that was technically not ours anymore sitting there a few feet away from our kitchen table, that it really was a stressful few days for me until it was delivered.
Fortunately, when the NEW new sofa arrived, I feel deeply in love (and deeply asleep on it's comfy, wide cushions!). I'm calling the color "aqua". I adore it. It's everything I wanted - cheery and bright and cozy and casual without looking dumpy. It just needed a few new pillows to un-generic-asize it a bit. I know orange is a trendy accent color right now - but that's the fun part about accents (homemade, cheap ones especially), I can afford to throw a little trend in! When orange is "so five minutes ago", I'll just make new ones!
Happy Mama.
But alas, the fabric was already worn completely through on the edges. Luckily, we bought the warranty. So getting a new sofa was as easy as going to JCPenney and choosing a new one.
Or so they said.
Here's where I do a little "aside" rant about the problem with sofa's - I'll try to be brief. The problem with sofa's is that they're all just variations of the same drab sofa. Beige. I hate beige. And the problem with me having these strong feelings about sofa's is that it makes choosing a sofa rather difficult. OK, rant done.
So we went to JCP on a Saturday - me, Richard, and all four of our crazy children. We chose a sofa that we thought maybe we could live with, but then changed our mind and got a leather recliner instead. Then we went to another store and, after much negotiating - between Richard and I about sofa's and between the children and I about their behavior staying decent for a few more minutes - chose a dark blue sofa.
The next Saturday the recliner and sofa were delivered. Funny story - one store told me they'd deliver between 8 and 10 am. The other store told me they'd deliver between 12 and 2 pm. Then both trucks showed up at the same time - 11:15am. The recliner is fabulous. Richard is thrilled to have a leather recliner, it saves space in the room to have a recliner instead of an ottoman, and I don't hate it. The sofa, however, was a black hole in the family room. It was WAY too dark. I tried to like it, I really did. I thought maybe orange accents would help cheer it up. They didn't.
Seriously - look at that picture that I took in the store (above) and then compare it to this one (below). It looks so much darker in my family room. It looks practically black!
I just couldn't make myself like it.So back to the store I went. It took some patience and some repetition of my carefully planned flirty whining, but in the end they let me return the sofa for only a "restocking fee".
But then I still had to choose a NEW new sofa. *sigh* I finally chose a much lighter blue sofa that I thought would be great. But I was questioning myself so much, plus having that dark blue sofa that was technically not ours anymore sitting there a few feet away from our kitchen table, that it really was a stressful few days for me until it was delivered.
Fortunately, when the NEW new sofa arrived, I feel deeply in love (and deeply asleep on it's comfy, wide cushions!). I'm calling the color "aqua". I adore it. It's everything I wanted - cheery and bright and cozy and casual without looking dumpy. It just needed a few new pillows to un-generic-asize it a bit. I know orange is a trendy accent color right now - but that's the fun part about accents (homemade, cheap ones especially), I can afford to throw a little trend in! When orange is "so five minutes ago", I'll just make new ones!
Happy Mama.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Science expirement
What to do with a mixed bag of candy and time to kill on Spring Break? Turn it into a science expirement! Let each kid test each one and give feedback.
Conclusion: nobody turns down candy around here.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Things Sammy Says
"Wow, that's cool!"
When I say "no" he says, "Awww, why?" But has no idea what it means.
"Watch show?"
"Nooose" "Eyes" "Eeeears" while pointing at the appropriate facial part
"No clean! No clean! All done!" He hates it when we put all the toys away.
"Oofey" as he bumps his toosh down each step on the stairs.
"All done!" as I start changing his diaper or I put him in his crib.
... And a million other things that surprise me every day!
When I say "no" he says, "Awww, why?" But has no idea what it means.
"Watch show?"
"Nooose" "Eyes" "Eeeears" while pointing at the appropriate facial part
"No clean! No clean! All done!" He hates it when we put all the toys away.
"Oofey" as he bumps his toosh down each step on the stairs.
"All done!" as I start changing his diaper or I put him in his crib.
... And a million other things that surprise me every day!
Monday, April 2, 2012
General Conference Weekend Highlights
Richard flew home Saturday at 11am and flew out again Sunday at 3pm. Does he have another family somewhere else? (Just kidding - actually he's working very hard and we appreciate that.)
The big kids watched an entire session of Conference. They did great! We put a cup of jelly beans on the mantel for each of them and told them the cups held 20 jelly beans right now and they'd get to eat them all after Conference. But that each time we had to pause Conference to deal with them or shush them or whatever, Mom or Dad would eat one of their jelly beans. Only 5 jelly beans were eaten by Mom and Dad during the entire 2 hours!
Our only-three-years-old blue plaid couch is falling apart. Luckily we have a warranty. So we got to go choose a new couch. We chose a new dark-blue couch and a leather recliner (to replace the chair and ottoman that we bought used six years ago). Next step, choose a paint color for the family room and kitchen! The front runner right now: a very light gray with blue tones.
Spring Break has begun! We don't have any going-away plans, but we do have plans for lots of fun little excursions. First off - swimming!
The big kids watched an entire session of Conference. They did great! We put a cup of jelly beans on the mantel for each of them and told them the cups held 20 jelly beans right now and they'd get to eat them all after Conference. But that each time we had to pause Conference to deal with them or shush them or whatever, Mom or Dad would eat one of their jelly beans. Only 5 jelly beans were eaten by Mom and Dad during the entire 2 hours!
Our only-three-years-old blue plaid couch is falling apart. Luckily we have a warranty. So we got to go choose a new couch. We chose a new dark-blue couch and a leather recliner (to replace the chair and ottoman that we bought used six years ago). Next step, choose a paint color for the family room and kitchen! The front runner right now: a very light gray with blue tones.
Spring Break has begun! We don't have any going-away plans, but we do have plans for lots of fun little excursions. First off - swimming!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Mis-heard
Isaiah has been walking around the house saying dramatically, "Mock my words! Mock my words, Mom!" And I do.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Providence
Providence: The protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power
A few days ago I received a mass email from a woman in my ward who I don't know at all. The email said something like, "We recently adopted three children and you've all been so sweet offering your help and we've said no to everything so far. But now I realized that the kids need Sunday clothes. The boys are 4 and 2, the girl is 3. If you have any clothes that you can pass on, we'd greatly appreciate it."
When I read that I remembered that I had just noticed a spare pair of Sunday pants in Isaiah's drawer. Sometimes Asher and Isaiah are the same clothing size for a few months, so I have to buy doubles of Sunday clothes. I knew I could help at least with the size 4, so I shot her back an email right away. I found that spare pair of pants and a shirt in size 4, no problem. Then I went to the boys closet to see how available the 2T box of clothes was. It was not easily reachable - way behind and under a bunch of other stuff. But right in front was a grocery bag labeled "2T". So I glanced in and sure enough, there was 2 Sunday outfits right next to each other. How convenient! As for the girl, I was sure I wouldn't have anything to offer her since Naomi had been out of size 3 before we moved into this house. All those boxes of little girl clothes are in a storage unit across town. But I glanced into Naomi's closet anyway. And hanging there, next to several size 6, 7 dresses, was one size 3T Easter dress. A little purple fluffy miracle in my opinion.
As I dropped off these clothes I couldn't help but think back to how that dress ended up in Naomi's closet. And how those two 2T boys Sunday outfits ended up right in front, together, so that I knew I had a spare. It seems to me that something like five years ago, God planned for this day. Five years ago God lead me to leave that dress in Naomi's closet. Heck, that little girl wasn't even BORN yet! But He knew that she would need that dress today and he got it ready for her. Through me.
Isn't that kind of amazing? Truly miraculous! The definition of providence.
A few days ago I received a mass email from a woman in my ward who I don't know at all. The email said something like, "We recently adopted three children and you've all been so sweet offering your help and we've said no to everything so far. But now I realized that the kids need Sunday clothes. The boys are 4 and 2, the girl is 3. If you have any clothes that you can pass on, we'd greatly appreciate it."
When I read that I remembered that I had just noticed a spare pair of Sunday pants in Isaiah's drawer. Sometimes Asher and Isaiah are the same clothing size for a few months, so I have to buy doubles of Sunday clothes. I knew I could help at least with the size 4, so I shot her back an email right away. I found that spare pair of pants and a shirt in size 4, no problem. Then I went to the boys closet to see how available the 2T box of clothes was. It was not easily reachable - way behind and under a bunch of other stuff. But right in front was a grocery bag labeled "2T". So I glanced in and sure enough, there was 2 Sunday outfits right next to each other. How convenient! As for the girl, I was sure I wouldn't have anything to offer her since Naomi had been out of size 3 before we moved into this house. All those boxes of little girl clothes are in a storage unit across town. But I glanced into Naomi's closet anyway. And hanging there, next to several size 6, 7 dresses, was one size 3T Easter dress. A little purple fluffy miracle in my opinion.
As I dropped off these clothes I couldn't help but think back to how that dress ended up in Naomi's closet. And how those two 2T boys Sunday outfits ended up right in front, together, so that I knew I had a spare. It seems to me that something like five years ago, God planned for this day. Five years ago God lead me to leave that dress in Naomi's closet. Heck, that little girl wasn't even BORN yet! But He knew that she would need that dress today and he got it ready for her. Through me.
Isn't that kind of amazing? Truly miraculous! The definition of providence.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Popcorn
We love that we live in a place where we look out the window and what do we see? Popcorn popping on the {not really} apricot trees!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
I Run
I run. That's a totally new statement for me. I mean, two weeks ago I would have said that I hate running. That I can't run. That I won't run. But then this morning I think I even enjoyed it!
Let's back up a bit. A few weeks ago my sister-in-law, Kelly, asked me if I wanted to join her and a few other women in a 5K. I would normally have said no instantly, but I was having a "something has to change in order for me to stay sane" kind of moment and my running status seemed like a good thing to change. So I said yes! I gave it a shot one Saturday morning using my phone as a interval timer and music player. First my music player failed, then my timer. And it turned out to not be a fun run because of my frustration with that. Squeezing in the time to run is pretty frustrating sometimes, too. After that first run I bought a sports watch with an interval timer on it and I dug my old MP3 player out and re-charged the battery.
And then this morning everything magically aligned from the gorgeous weather to Samuel's nap - and I enjoyed it!
I think I probably won't always enjoy it. And I think the scheduling will always (at least this school year) be kind of frustrating. But I feel so good about just getting out there and doing it. Doing something entirely for me feels pretty dang good.
Friday, March 2, 2012
I Made
I like to make things. I like to say that it's because I can finish something. There are so few tasks in my life that I can say that about. Laundry, dishes, cleaning and child rearing are never finished. But I think I also like it because I'm amazed that I can pull it off! So here's a little collection of things I've made lately that I haven't had a chance to blog yet.
This is a 3-D airplane mobile that I made for my new nephew, Ryan. I bought the pattern on Etsy and then used my Cricut to cut the planes and clouds out.
Richard helped with the technical aspects of this one quite a bit.
Here's a little wall hanging I made for a friend who was having a baby. When friends choose a baby name before the baby is born I like to embroider the baby's name onto something like burp rags or a hanging. But when they don't choose the name before the baby shower, I do something generic like this. I actually really love how this one turned out and it was a little hard to give it away and not hang it in my own home!
The grass and stems are embroidered, then I just stitched the buttons on.
Here's a little "lovey" I made for another friends baby (apparently I create most often for new babies!). This is pieced together from fabric that my mother gave me which she got from a fabric designer who works in her building. I love the retro look of the fabric combination - it was perfect for this friend.
Then I quilted it using my sewing machine.
Here's a little something that I haven't finished yet. I realized (after I made and gave away that button flower thing) that I dont actually have any thing that I've made displayed in my home! So I started this heart to add to my Valentine's decor. The idea is that the french knots will get more and more scattered as they go out toward the edge. What I failed to take into account was just how long making eight gazillion french knots would take! At this point, I'm hoping to have this done by NEXT Valentine's Day! (Hopefully this project doesn't ruin my "I like to finish things" theory!)
This is like therapy for me. When I'm having a rough day I think to myself, "What can I make today?" Sometimes what I make is cookies or bread or a big dinner - but sewing and crafting are lower fat!
This is a 3-D airplane mobile that I made for my new nephew, Ryan. I bought the pattern on Etsy and then used my Cricut to cut the planes and clouds out.
Richard helped with the technical aspects of this one quite a bit.
Here's a little wall hanging I made for a friend who was having a baby. When friends choose a baby name before the baby is born I like to embroider the baby's name onto something like burp rags or a hanging. But when they don't choose the name before the baby shower, I do something generic like this. I actually really love how this one turned out and it was a little hard to give it away and not hang it in my own home!
The grass and stems are embroidered, then I just stitched the buttons on.
Here's a little "lovey" I made for another friends baby (apparently I create most often for new babies!). This is pieced together from fabric that my mother gave me which she got from a fabric designer who works in her building. I love the retro look of the fabric combination - it was perfect for this friend.
Then I quilted it using my sewing machine.
Here's a little something that I haven't finished yet. I realized (after I made and gave away that button flower thing) that I dont actually have any thing that I've made displayed in my home! So I started this heart to add to my Valentine's decor. The idea is that the french knots will get more and more scattered as they go out toward the edge. What I failed to take into account was just how long making eight gazillion french knots would take! At this point, I'm hoping to have this done by NEXT Valentine's Day! (Hopefully this project doesn't ruin my "I like to finish things" theory!)
This is like therapy for me. When I'm having a rough day I think to myself, "What can I make today?" Sometimes what I make is cookies or bread or a big dinner - but sewing and crafting are lower fat!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunny Sunday With Jason
On Sunday we had the privilege of having Grant and Margaret, my sister Ruth, her boyfriend Jason, her room-mate Sam, and friend Paul over for dinner. We wanted to spend some quality time with Jason in particular before he moves to Florida in a few weeks.
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday and we had a lovely time together playing, chatting and eating. There was a VERY intense game of Jenga.
And plenty of kids games, too. Jason was a very good sport about playing with the kids.
He even showed off his Marine muscles a bit swinging the boys around like they were dolls.
(Is he wearing mis-matched socks? Could I have missed that all afternoon?)
After dinner Richard, Ruth and Sam (who, by the way, is a girl) took the kids for a walk while Jason and Paul snoozed. Ruth couldn't resist a cuddle with Jason when she got back.
It really was a very fun day. We approve of Jason whole-heartedly. He seems like a very good, fun, clever guy, but most importantly he seems totally smitten with our Ruthie! (But if he ever breaks Ruth's heart we shall smite this blog post from the record and claim that we hated him from the beginning!)
(above is Paul, Ruth, Jason, Sam and various children)
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday and we had a lovely time together playing, chatting and eating. There was a VERY intense game of Jenga.
And plenty of kids games, too. Jason was a very good sport about playing with the kids.
He even showed off his Marine muscles a bit swinging the boys around like they were dolls.
(Is he wearing mis-matched socks? Could I have missed that all afternoon?)After dinner Richard, Ruth and Sam (who, by the way, is a girl) took the kids for a walk while Jason and Paul snoozed. Ruth couldn't resist a cuddle with Jason when she got back.
It really was a very fun day. We approve of Jason whole-heartedly. He seems like a very good, fun, clever guy, but most importantly he seems totally smitten with our Ruthie! (But if he ever breaks Ruth's heart we shall smite this blog post from the record and claim that we hated him from the beginning!)
(above is Paul, Ruth, Jason, Sam and various children)
Men's Shirt Skirt
As I passed by Richard's closet the other day, I noticed this lovely Springy print plaid shirt sticking out of the back. It was a shirt that he never wears anymore, so I stole it! It had "cute little girls skirt" metaphorically written all over it!
So I chopped off the bottom part like this:
Then I sewed shut the front opening where the buttons are. I probably could have skipped this step, but I thought it might wash better if they were sewn shut. I tried to stay right on top of the existing stitch line (but of course came off of it repeatedly). I sewed down both sides of the buttons.
Then I did the usual waistline with a tiny fold then a big fold, making sure to leave enough room for the elastic. I actually ironed the folds and everything. Usually I skip that step and end up with a big mess. I really tried to be neat this time and it totally paid off in the end!
Now here's a step you could definitely skip. The step where you have to use your seam ripper to open back up the stitching a bit because you forgot to leave a space open so that you can put the elastic in. DUH! Then feed your elastic in with your handy safety pin as the guide.
THEN you can sew up that last couple inches in the waistline. And voila! An adorable skirt with a cute pre-made hemline. I love that it still has the shape at the bottom of a men's shirt. Oh, and as a final step I moved two of the buttons from the top of the shirt down to the bottom because the buttons on a Men's shirt end before the tail. I thought about putting entirely different buttons on - it would have been cute with pink flower buttons of something - but in the end I really loved the "Men's shirt" look and wanted to keep that.
Hmmm, what other shirts can I steal from my husband's closet?
I'm getting my craft on with Kim at Today's Creative Blog.
So I chopped off the bottom part like this:
Then I sewed shut the front opening where the buttons are. I probably could have skipped this step, but I thought it might wash better if they were sewn shut. I tried to stay right on top of the existing stitch line (but of course came off of it repeatedly). I sewed down both sides of the buttons.
Then I did the usual waistline with a tiny fold then a big fold, making sure to leave enough room for the elastic. I actually ironed the folds and everything. Usually I skip that step and end up with a big mess. I really tried to be neat this time and it totally paid off in the end!
Now here's a step you could definitely skip. The step where you have to use your seam ripper to open back up the stitching a bit because you forgot to leave a space open so that you can put the elastic in. DUH! Then feed your elastic in with your handy safety pin as the guide.
THEN you can sew up that last couple inches in the waistline. And voila! An adorable skirt with a cute pre-made hemline. I love that it still has the shape at the bottom of a men's shirt. Oh, and as a final step I moved two of the buttons from the top of the shirt down to the bottom because the buttons on a Men's shirt end before the tail. I thought about putting entirely different buttons on - it would have been cute with pink flower buttons of something - but in the end I really loved the "Men's shirt" look and wanted to keep that.
Hmmm, what other shirts can I steal from my husband's closet?I'm getting my craft on with Kim at Today's Creative Blog.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
100% Intelligible
That's what Isaiah's speech therapist said he is now: 100% intelligible. All the speech errors he makes now are "age appropriate". He still has a "frontal lisp" which makes "things" become "fings", and he still drops the end sound sometimes which makes that "fings" become "feens", but apparently that's OK. I asked the therapist if that meant she thought he didn't really need to be in speech (because, frankly, my life would be a whole lot easier without speech therapy twice a week) and she said, "Oh, no! Now that I've got him in the system I wouldn't dream of kicking him out! You worked hard to get him in and I'm gonna keep working with him and helping him. We'll talk again soon at his next IEP about next year, but for now we'll just keep working." And I like that answer, crazy schedule or not.
There was a point in the past when I went to sleep dreaming about Isaiah on his mission stuttering out a few words at a time and really struggling with each word. I dreamed of mocking classmates and isolation and a hard life for him. Because "they" said he might never speak or that if he did it would be a struggle. I'm so grateful that they seem to be very, very wrong.
So this might not be the end of our speech therapy days, but it is the end of my bad dreams - at least about this one thing.
There was a point in the past when I went to sleep dreaming about Isaiah on his mission stuttering out a few words at a time and really struggling with each word. I dreamed of mocking classmates and isolation and a hard life for him. Because "they" said he might never speak or that if he did it would be a struggle. I'm so grateful that they seem to be very, very wrong.
So this might not be the end of our speech therapy days, but it is the end of my bad dreams - at least about this one thing.
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