"Get Ready For Christmas" Friday!

I'm looking at my clock and it's not really Friday, but luckily when you post it's an hour behind {I think} so just pretend like it's still Friday. I had wanted to post everyday this week but it's been so crazy and before I knew it, it was 11:59 Friday night and I hadn't even done my Friday post so here I am!

This week, I became obsessed with one thing that I want to make for Christmas:

Pettiskirts!!

Love, love, love them and I want to make a million. Look at all that fluffy fluff! I think every girl that I know {including myself} should have a pettiskirt. I think they'd be so cute with a pair of leggings underneath or some long funky socks. Think of the possibilities!

So, I researched pettiskirts this week. I found some great resources, and some not so great resources {paying over $80 for one}. They look really, really easy to make and cost almost next to nothing.

This link from Sew, Mama, Sew was great! Pettiskirts

They had lots of great directions and different sites you could go to depending on the instructions you wanted. They also had links to a few different places to buy nylon chiffon.

So, anyone in? I'm going to make a few and I think it'd be great if we all got together and did them at the same time. It'd be more fun that way! Let me know if you're interested and we'll pick a date!

Get Ready for Christmas Friday!

Last year I did the Economic Christmas Week. This year I decided to start a little earlier. That way we all have time to get our Christmas Gifts done and not stress when Christmas gets closer. Each Friday I'll post different fun gifts to make for those you love.

This week are gifts for the travelers in your family. We have a few of those in our family so I was really excited to find gifts just for them.

First, from Maya Made are these cute travel pillows. She has a tutorial on how to make them and they'd be perfect for boys or girls.

Next, also from Maya Made are these cute sleep masks. I wish I'd had a few of these when we went on vacation. Sleep mask time would have been mandatory. On her site she has a tutorial on how to make them. They look really easy and whoever you give them to would love you forever.


Or, instead of black and white you could substitute a cute pattern fabric. I found these on Etsy here.


Last, are these cute chalkboard placemats. They would be perfect for long or short car rides. They'd be even better for keeping the kids occupied when you stop to eat.

Little Birdie Secrets has an easy tutorial to make them here.


I found these on Etsy from Dine.n.Doodle and I think I'll incorporate a few of the things they have added.


Instead of oil cloth, I'll use vinyl laminate for fabric. That way I can match the pillow, eye masks, and chalkmats all together. I'll add a grommet for a cute ribbon tie and a little pocket for a piece of chalk. I'll also add another little pocket for a cute chalkboard eraser that I found on Maya Made.



Let's get started! Let me know how they turn out!

The Over Protective Parents Club

Today Derek decided to take the title of overprotective parent from me. I was more than happy to hand it over. In light of yesterday, he decided to head over to the school to stalk our child during recess. He invited me, but I politely declined with,

"No way, I don't want to see that again."

I'd seen enough social carnage yesterday to last me a lifetime. It's funny the things us mothers can and can't handle.

Blood, puke, pee, poop? Not a problem!

Seeing our own flesh and blood standing alone on a playground? I did not sign up for that! That's where I reach my limit.

So, Derek headed over to the school to make sure our son was being socially accepted by the older, bigger fourth graders. And if he wasn't? Heads were going to roll!

He headed to the school, and I headed over to give plasma. One form of torture per day, I say! A little while in and I get a call.

"What's he wearing?"

I gave him a description of the child needing over protection and he said,

"It looks like he's playing with a group of kids over by the fence."

I almost started to cry. He found friends! He wasn't destined to be alone forever!

"Oh wait, that's not him. Never mind."

Okay. Now what? No friends? Alone forever?

We hang up. I'm hoping and praying he'll find him with a big group of kids, them lifting him up on their shoulders, showering him with candy and flowers, thanking him for gracing them with his presence.

He called back a little while later. He found him and even talked to him. He said he was walking around the track {they have to do a lap each recess} by himself kicking a soccer ball. But, he was happy! He didn't care that he was alone, he was having a great time! And when he was done with his lap, he approached a group of kids playing "Helicopter, Helicopter" and asked if he could play.

And that's when I remembered one of my favorite things about Brandon.

His confidence.

He's the type of person that can go into a group of people and make friends with all of them. He's not afraid to approach people. And, he's not afraid of being rejected.

I forgot that yesterday.

I'm afraid of all those things and in my fear of him being accepted I'd forgotten that he's not me.

There is hope for him yet.

{Thank you everyone for your kind words and support. I appreciate it more than you know! Friends are the best!}

Wherein I Cry

It's been a rough week. I won't lie. I won't exaggerate. I won't even sugar coat it. It sucked. And the suckiness {if that's a word} is still going strong. Granted, I've had much rougher weeks, but it's been awhile so I'd forgotten to bring my A-Game.

Last week we had a meeting with some school district uppities. {They had the results of a test B had taken in 2nd grade.} While they looked us over like spoiled meat, we cringed, knowing they were thinking we'd stolen our oldest kid from some smart people, because how could he have come from us? They talked, we nodded; a little shell shocked to do much else. Among their suggestions on how to educate this rare oddity was to grade skip him.

We didn't know what to do. We didn't know what to say. This was new territory and we weren't Lewis and Clark. They at least had a compass and Sacajawea. We didn't have either and they really wouldn't have been helpful in this situation anyway.

So we talked to people. Most times, the response was positive. We met with a group of people who have their own rare oddities and they had awesome advice also. But when it really came down to it, the decision was ours. So, we did it. We decided as parents that we could not in good conscience not do whatever we could to help him progress. This wasn't a decision we took lightly. {I look a little zombie-like and I think if you tried to hold a conversation with me I might unwillingly nod off.}

And after it was decided, I cried. I knew it was right, but here I was sending my just barely baptized eight year old to the wolves. And then, all the negatives wouldn't leave me alone.

He'll be in a grade with kids 2 years older than him.
He won't have any friends.
They won't like him.
They'll pick on him because they know he's supposed to be in third grade.
They won't let him play with them.
He'll be alone.

Everything I read and everyone I talked to said he'd be fine. Heck, even the test he took said he'd be fine. But in my heart, I was scared. No child should ever have to feel alone and I certainly didn't want mine to feel that way.

When I walked him to class this morning and heard a few kids ask why he was there, my heart ached. When I left him and he looked a little smaller than them, my heart cracked. But, when I checked on him during recess and saw him standing alone, my heart broke.

As I stood by the lunchroom door crying silently, I questioned my once strong decision.

Was I wrong?
Was this the right thing to do?
Would he be ok?
Would he ever make friends?
Would he be alone for the rest of 4th grade?

The test said he'd be ok. Everyone I talked to said he'd be ok. Even my head said he'd be ok, but I couldn't reconcile that with my broken heart.

And still, I cry. Because I wonder.

I didn't say I was a genius...

*As an explanation, for some reason, sharing my stupidity with the rest of the world makes the whole situation a little easier to deal with.*


These are my new toys. Purchased for $100 each at Lowes. Yes, I said $100 dollars. Crazy eh? The washer was used and sounds a little noisy, but we're getting that fixed. The dryer, brand new, just discontinued, with the manual still taped inside.


We're loving them until it comes time to dry the clothes. We put them in, and wait. Five hours later our towels are dry. I call my mom and ask her if her front loader takes a really long time to dry clothes. Nope.

So, I try every configuration that I can, trying to get some warmth. Nothing. It is just cold air. So, I call Lowe's and talk to a really nice lady at Samsung who puts out a repair order. The repair lady calls yesterday and says that the guy will be out about 10:00 today. And, she adds in, that if it's just human error related to hook up and there's nothing wrong with it they have to charge us $60. That's fine, we say, because we've checked every possible configuration in the back as well as the front to try to get it to work.

So, when he showed up, shined his little flashlight in the back, and said to me,

"This is a gas dryer. And a gas dryer won't work if it's not hooked up to the gas."

I wanted to melt. I wanted to crawl in a hole. I wanted to disappear. I wanted my face, which was bright red from embarrassment, to stop flaming.

Now, you may think we are completely stupid, but really, we're not. We've never had a gas dryer. We had these for almost 13 years, and they're both electric.


We even read through the manual to try and figure out what could be wrong. There were no diagrams of gas dryers and how to hook them up. So really, we were just clueless.

After I stammered my way through explaining to him that we bought it on clearance and didn't even ask, and we've never had a gas dryer, and on and on and on.... {I tend to stammer A LOT when I'm embarrassed.} He said to me,

"I'm really sorry but I have to charge you $60 for this."

I knew it was coming, the punishment for our stupidity. As I wrote that check out, my stomach churned a little. Okay, a lot. And flashes of fun things I could do with $60 flashed through my head. Heck, flashes of unfun things {like groceries} flashed through my head.

As I handed him the check, I wondered if I could just shove him outside, snatch back the check, lock the door and pretend it was all just a really bad dream. But alas, I couldn't muster up the courage.

He left, I called Derek, and he laughed. I'm not quite there yet.