The Never-ending Minnie Mouse Fabric

My family loves Disney!

As Florida residents we get incredible discounts on season passes. We usually buy a season pass every other year. In anticipation of these trips (and because I just really love polka dots) I usually buy a lot of Minnie Mouse polka dot fabric.

Right now it's an off year, but I can't get it out of my system. So I made a top for my two-year-old (who happens to be the size of a four-year-old). I bought this fabric about four years ago and I will use it until I only have tiny scraps left, and then my girls will probably make clothes for their dolls out of it.

Anyway, as I was organizing my closet this morning (an ongoing project) I came a cross a bin of sewing projects I had started a while back. One of the things that caught my attention was this white top... well, the beginnings of a white top. The little sleeves were sewn in, and the top part was all put together. It had been in there for a while because I honestly don't remember what I had planned to do with it. I'm pretty sure it was something for one of my other girls that got put away before I could finish it.

Well, I pulled it out and had the two-year-old try it on to see if it was big enough around. It was a perfect fit. I had the polka-dot fabric easily accessible because of the top I just finished for my best friend's daughter. I just cut a strip of the polka dot and hemmed it. I did a decorative stitch with white thread across the bottom of the polka dot fabric. Then I gathered it to the top piece which was already complete. Then I went through my button bin which is usually stocked with a plethora of white buttons.

Then I started thinking about how to make it really pop. So I cut a strip of the polka-dot fabric to make a rosette, found another fun button for the center and, voila, an embellishment.

The whole think took me about 45 minutes this morning. Having the first part already finished definitely helped me go a bit faster. I think the longest part was sewing the rosette on because I had to sew it on twice on account of I sewed on the wrong side the first time.

While the two-year-old was running around the house enjoying her new top I remembered that I made a big puffy bow for one of my older girls back when I first bought the polka-dot fabric. I found it and asked if she wanted to wear it. I wish you could have seen her eyes light up. I couldn't tear her away from the mirror for a very long time after I put it in.

Here is the front view:

And here is the back:

(The picture at the top was taken after I put the bow in her hair).

Some Sewing Projects

So I was at an Antique store today chatting with the owner. (because, of course I can't just look things over and leave... I HAVE to strike up a conversation). She had these beautiful old ostrich feathers that were dyed a deep red. I could just imagine them on a dress I was thinking about making for my almost three-year-old for Christmas and I started telling her about my sewing.

As we chatted I realized that I have this whole blog and I don't think I've posted any pictures of my sewing on it. I mean, I have a whole photo album on my facebook page dedicated to crafts, but anyone who doesn't have a facebook account can't see my work. (and yes, there are people alive today who don't have facebook accounts and actually do lead reasonably exciting lives.)

So anyway I told her I would post some pictures of some of my recent projects on here. I'll upload a few today, but you'll have to come back later for more detailed posts and better pictures as I'm waiting for my best friend to send me some pictures she took of the dresses. She's a much better photographer than I am.

Here is a picture of a white muslin dress I made in the Regency style. I made it for my friend's daughter.

This is another dress I made for my friend's daughter. The fabric was at Walmart for $1.50/yd. I wanted to buy some, but I have so much fabric right now that I knew it wouldn't get used very soon, so my friend bought it.

Here is a Rapunzel dress I made for my oldest daughter since she's getting too tall for most of the ready-made Disney costumes.

And finally, here is a top I made for my friend's daughter to wear to Disney as soon as her family saves up enough money. I used leftover fabric some dresses I've made for my girls in the past, so it was essentially free.

I have to admit, I make a LOT of clothes for this girl. Not only is she a beautiful model, but my girls seem to always have a ton of clothes in the their closet, so I don't really feel like they need me to make them more. You will be seeing more clothes for them soon, though as I just started on a dress for my seven-year-old and my two year old will be "needing" some fancy dresses for church this winter.

More to come soon.

A Real Treat

My mom sent me an email today containing an article about ways to treat yourself that are not food related. I enjoyed the article but it made me think about some of my friends who can't afford to do much by way of rewarding themselves.

When you're on a weight loss program, it's important to celebrate the small milestones along the way. It keeps you motivated to stay on track. But, when your mentor tells you to go get a manicure and you have no money in the bank, it's easy to think, "I guess I'll just have to skip the rewards."

Let's face it. It's really cheap to go buy a bag of Oreos. It takes more time and creativity to think of an alternative. In our microwave generation we like cheap and easy. Of course, if we had a list that we maintained and kept on hand for those times when we need a little incentive, then perhaps the cheap and easy habits would be broken. I'm going to start a list. Feel free to contribute your own suggestions, just be sure they're either free, or comparable to the price of a bag of cookies.

Free things:

Going to the beach (in my area): even if you don't get sand in your shoes and just choose to sit and watch the waves from a bench, it's still a nice treat.

Watching the sunset/sunrise: If you're a night owl, don't force yourself to watch the sunrise, and vice versa... this is a reward, not a lifestyle shift.

A bubble bath: assuming you have bubble bath in your cabinet already

A home pedicure: again, assuming you have the necessary tools on hand

Window shopping at the mall: it isn't free if you buy something

Taking over the TV for the evening to watch a chick-flick: just make sure you aren't stuffing your face while you watch.

Coloring: Yes, I'm talking about getting out the crayons and spending some time coloring like you did as a kid.

Things that cost about as much as a bag of Oreos:

A new cosmetic item: we're talking small here... a new shade of lipstick or eye shadow

A craft tool: some fun dollar fabric, a skein of yarn in a cool color, a rubber stamp. Remember, this doesn't mean that new cri-cut printer you've been wanting.

Some fresh flowers: seriously... you don't have to wait for your hubby to buy them for you all the time

A new book: ok, some of these can get expensive, but if you look in the "last chance" section, or the library bookstore, you can find them pretty cheap. Not to mention, many of the classics are free for e-readers

Here's another thing to think about. I grew up in church. Every time we wanted to celebrate, we had a meal. We would sit and talk for hours and stuff ourselves with food. Why? As I mentioned before, it was cheap. Everyone could contribute to the pot-luck without breaking the bank. It was also easy. Trying to rent a facility to do some rock-climbing (which wasn't even available then), or paying for everyone to go bowling or ice skating was not only costly, but required everyone leaving the church grounds and transferring to a new location. Not much has changed over the years.

That being said, I think as Christians we need to swallow our pride and admit that we need support. What was that verse again? Oh yeah... Hebrews 10:25 - Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Do you think God would have put that in there if He knew we would be able to withstand any temptation that comes our way? We need to admit to each other that we have a hard time eating reasonable portions of food. We need to ask for help, and when asked for help we need to get off our high horse and be willing to help.

Another area of pride that needs to be brought down is our incessant striving for human approval over the food we bring. Sure, grandma's prize winning pie recipe is a hit at the church social, but when Grandma made it she also hung laundry to dry and kneaded her own bread by hand. She burned enough during the week to justify eating that calorie laden dessert now and then. If you're looking around at church and notice that the pews aren't filling up with new people, but rather with the same people taking up more space, maybe you should contribute to the general health of the congregation by coming up with your own special recipe you can hand down to your grandchildren that is full of flavor and half the fat.

A new year

It's been almost four months.... We ended our last school year in April. I think we had a few lessons in May and there was at least one field trip in June, but overall we were done with the boring and mundane parts of school in April.

It is now July, and we are starting up again. So much has changed since we started last year. Last July was our "maiden voyage" of sorts. My best friend and I decided to become radicals. We decided that if we were going to buck the school system we might as well use it to our advantage. Instead of just keeping our kids out of a traditional classroom, we might as well home school on our own time table.

Well, it worked. We loved it. We started in July and accomplished more in the months leading up to November than we had in previous years. We took a break from the tedium the week of Thanksgiving and didn't resume until after Epiphany. When we started back up we really didn't have much to do, and we took our time accomplishing it. Despite our deviation from a typical calendar, all of our children passed their evaluations with flying colors.

And so we begin again. Yesterday we met to discuss which subjects our children would do together. We amassed a pile of textbooks, unit studies, coloring sheets, flip charts, and miscellaneous other thing. We went through them and discussed our plan of attack, and although it is always overwhelming, we agreed that we were excited once again about the months ahead of us.

Today I moved my antique teachers desk back into the playroom, once again declaring it the "school room." I will have my artistic girls working throughout the next few days to de-clutter their desks and reassign them as tables of learning, rather than free-spirited design centers.

My goal is that, by Monday, July 25th we will be ready to start another year of school.

I will have one 8th grader this year (a bit daunting, especially since he is my strong willed, trail-blazer). I will have one 3rd grader (more compliant, but starting to realize that school is becoming less fun and more work). I will have one 2nd grader (still determined to stay on her older sister's academic level), and a two-and-a-half year old (who thinks she's ready for Kindergarten).

We'll see how it goes I guess.

Traveling With Children

We are headed on vacation soon. I wish I could say when or where, but unfortunately there are too many weirdo's on the internet these days and I'd like my house to be intact when we get back.

I was talking with my sister-in-law about the stress of planning vacations. She has several little ones. Although mine are a bit older now (with the exception of Amelia), I understand her stress. You need a vacation, but they cost money, which you have to work to get. It's like a vicious cycle. Of course, throwing kids into the mix (especially little ones) only adds to the stress. Travel is always more difficult with little ones, and airplane travel just isn't fun anymore for anyone especially parents with small children.

Lots of people have written articles about how to travel with small children, so I will only include things we have actually done. To preface this information, keep in mind that we live at the southern end of Florida and our closest family lives at least a 10 hour drive away. We make the trek a minimum of once a year, sometimes twice. We aren't talking about a two hour jaunt.

First, I have noticed that having a dvd player in our van is a lifesaver. I limit my children's daily TV watching for the most part, so being allowed to watch movies all day is a treat for them.

The second biggest thing that helps is planning ahead for a picnic lunch at a park. Play places at a fast food restaurant are okay, but sometimes they are too limiting. Depending on when you go they may be over crowded, and often they have age or height restrictions. Everyone who has been sitting in a car for a while needs the stretch their legs and this includes mom and dad. We have gone a few miles out of the way at times to find a good park. There's something about letting kids run for an hour that quiets them for the remainder of the trip. This will be our first trip with a teenager, and I plan on forcing "Mr. Cool" to run around some, even though he may not personally plan on it.

Following much of the advice I've read I have made activity packs for the kids as well. Or son isn't naturally artistic, so he doesn't like typical activity books you buy in a store. I can usually print coloring pages for the girls, but these just don't hold his attention. In the past I've made a book of puzzles for him to work on. He's old enough now to be entertained by video games, but I still like making him a booklet. I include personalized word searches, mazes and crosswords, find-the-picture puzzles, and (our favorite) a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt includes things to find along the highway, as well as things to find while we're visiting, and even on the way back home. I also include fun facts about the places we are going and the activities we have planned.

For me, the girls have always been much easier to entertain. I've found some really nice durable magnetic paper dolls. I've also found Dover Little Activity books to be a lot of fun. If you plan ahead, you can buy a ton of these on clearance for under a dollar. I usually have a stack of these in my closet for any occasion. On our last trip, my husband found these scratch off books that were a lot of fun. And of course, there's always the invisible ink books.

The final thing we do to keep everyone happy is have everyone take a turn entertaining the youngest. Right now she is two, so watching movies and coloring for 10 hours isn't good enough. If everyone takes an hour to do something with her, play with figurines, or have a finger puppet show, or read a book, or just listen to her talk, she stays entertained much longer. It also teaches everyone to be less self-centered, and during the non-entertained moments I work with her on how to entertain herself.

So that's it... those are my secrets for surviving a long car trip with my children. feel free to share your own experiences.

This Morning's Dream

After my husband got up to shower, I fell back asleep and had the following dream this morning.......

I was chatting with him upstairs in our house, when suddenly it grew dark. It was morning, and I thought it was odd that it was so dark. I began to hear the whistling of the wind. I looked out a window and was amazed at how many clouds were rolling in. They were moving quickly and I had this sense of foreboding come over me. I knew something was not right.

I got Joel's attention and told him to look out the window. He only briefly glanced out the window and dismissed it as a morning thunderstorm rolling in. In a few seconds I saw a pinkish glow starting to shine between the gray of the clouds. My fear deepened. I prayed a quick thought prayer for safety and protection and seconds later the sky was mostly clear and it was quiet outside.

I was so distracted by the weather that I wasn't really paying attention to what Joel was trying to tell me. He gave up and went to take his shower. While he was in the shower I went downstairs to start my usual morning routine. I was about to get some breakfast when suddenly it was dark again and the sound was no longer just a whistling, but the chugging of a freight train. I felt like my ears were blocked and the sound was starting to get muffled. I also felt like I was being pushed over even though there was no wind entering the house at all.

The sky had turned completely reddish pink with a film of dust coating everything I looked at. Then I saw it. I have giant sliding glass doors downstairs in my house, and I had the perfect view. A gigantic funnel cloud had touched down and was headed toward our house. Richard was downstairs trying to talk to me. The girls were upstairs getting dressed. Joel was in the shower oblivious.

I began to pray. "I plea the blood over my house and my family." I was speaking out loud and Richard stopped to listen. "I command under the authority of the cross that this will not come night my house." Within seconds it was too loud for me to speak evenly and I was shouting. "Help us Father!" "I pray protection over my property, and command every evil thing to flee in the name of Jesus!"

I could hear the windows rattling around us and I knew that only God's power could keep our house standing. Suddenly it grew quiet. The girls came running downstairs shouting, "Look, Mama! Out the window!" They were pointing and yelling. We walked into our living room, a room that is almost surrounded by windows. All we could see was a thick wall of swirling clouds. It was completely silent. I could still hear the wind whistling, but I knew we must be in the eye of the storm and it had stopped square around our house.

I told the girls to come sit on the rug with Richard and I. I told them we needed to pray, because as soon as the storm moved on we would be in danger again. We joined hands in a circle, sitting on the floor and each of the children began to pray. Their word's were simple, as children's prayers usually are. They each took a turn and then it was my turn to pray.

Before I could utter a syllable, it stopped. Just like that. I opened my eyes and the sun was shining and the cloud was gone. It was as if nothing had happened. I couldn't believe it at first. I ran up the stairs and met Joel coming out of the bathroom dressed for work. I tried to tell him in a rush what had happened while he was in the shower.

I only got a few word of explanation out before I heard a scratching sound behind me and looked out the window. There were teenagers stuck all in the branches of a banyan tree outside our house. I quickly opened the window and held out a hand to pull one into the house. The other scrambled for the roof.

I saw another further back trying to hold on, and yelled that I would bring a ladder. I ran to the garage and got one and took it outside. I looked up into the tree and saw that there were about ten to fifteen teens in various parts of this enormous tree. Some were scrambling down easily, while others were in more precarious positions. Some of the ones on the edges were being helped by others with more sure footing.

Before I could begin to help with the ladder I woke up.

......I've never been in a tornado. I don't know the true terror of being in one. I only know what I've been told of them, and my subconscious pieced together the bits of what I've heard to create the dream. I know I was relieved when I actually did wake up, because it all seemed too real.

I'm sure my dream pales in comparison to what has been happening in our nation recently. My prayers go up for those who were affected by these tragedies. I pray for protection and grace and peace and that those who have lost everything would be comforted in knowing that God did not do this TO them, but rather that He is waiting to heal their wounds and show His mighty hand of restoration.

An Exercise

Allie tossed her head back and laughed loudly. Her grandmother would be ashamed at her lack of protocol. "A lady ___, " she could hear her grandmothers voice in her head, even as she continued to laugh. Sometimes you just have to let it out, Grandma.

Her thick brown hair bounced and shook in waves as she tried to regain her composure. Her black designer sunglasses which had been doubling as a headband slipped off her head and tumbled to the floor beneath the over sized table. She didn't even notice. Tears were already forming in her eyes as she gasped for air.

Her usually pale complexion began to turn pink as she realized she was the only one laughing. Still the guffaws came. Stop it! Stop it! Her subconscious warned her to no avail. Her muscles were protesting. Her cheeks hurt, and her abdominals were beginning to cramp. She had to work to stay upright in her chair.

"Excuse me," she managed to gasp out between convulsions. Somehow she was finally able to look around her. Ten serious faces stared her down. A mixture of disdain, disaproval and, disbelief showed on each of them. An eleventh could not meet her eye. This one stared casually at the laptop opened in front of him.

As her eyes came to rest on his studied nonchalance, she burst out again. She had to get out. The meeting was already a train wreck. She slapped her laptop closed and spun in her chair. As she wheeled just far enough from the table to rise, there came a sickening crunch.

Although it was not enough to stop the fit, it distracted her enough for her to leave the room a bit more quietly. The sunglasses were a loss, she didn't dare stop to pick them up now. As soon as the door closed behind her she burst out again.

Boring meeting or no, she would get him back someday.