Lessons Learned

While Christmas Day has come and gone, the season continues on in our house for at least another week. I can't resist sharing this photo of our stockings.  We have no fireplace so The Monster decided that our hallway laundry basket was where Santa would visit us. I'm not going to argue with a three and a half year old on Christmas! Oh wait, I did.  That would be the first lesson we learned.

Lesson #1

Do not insist on the Christmas Pajamas you bought when she dresses herself, entirely by herself, for the first time.  Instead, cheer for her and let her go to bed with two Pull-Ups on and summer PJs that are too small.

Lesson #2

Do not trust a three and half year old to keep a present a secret.  I knew my present within a hour of her returning from the mall.  She was just so damn excited to share with me.

Lesson #3

Three and a half is not too young to learn how to vacuum properly. That's what she got for deliberately throwing rainbow sprinkles on the floor.

Lesson #4

Hubby is the best dad/cousin/uncle for letting a 17, 12, 8, and 3 year old girl do his make-up and hair.

Lesson #5

Santa is apparently supposed to eat ALL the cookies you leave out for him, even if it is a dozen or so.

Lesson #6

Beef Wellington is fantastically delicious.

Lesson #7

A child can indeed survive on nothing but pork in various forms, oranges, cookies, and chocolate.

Lesson #8

Christmas with a child is seriously the best thing ever.  Everything was an adventure and sheer excitement. She still wakes up in the morning, plugs in the lights on the tree and tells me, "Mama, it's amazing!"

Oh Sweet Joy!

The other night all four of us were gathered around the dining room table, post dinner.  Hubby was using his stupid new contraption to roll up the change from the piggy banks. (Hello college fund!) The girls were enthralled with his efforts and the contraption.  To keep my hands busy I pulled out a quilt that needed some hand stitching.  Suddenly, what I was doing was far more interesting to The Monster.

Sadly, my tiny little #8 needle and the need for small stitches made it difficult for her to actually be of help. So I promised her that we would go on a special shopping trip the next day and gather supplies for her to start sewing.

 
Last night we sat down on the couch and started sewing.  I bought a medium sized hoop, some plain white cotton with a loose weave, and some large (but very real) needles.  I also let her pick out a few colours of basic embroidery floss.  Really I just wanted her to get the idea of pulling a needle through fabric while still getting a chance to see her results.

My little girl was in heaven.  We discussed the need to push the needle through front to back and back to front.  And how we had to pull the thread all the way through.  To make it easier on both of us I doubled up the thread and tied a solid knot.  I did not want to be constantly rethreading a needle! Besides, this was about process, not results.

After Smilosaurus unravelled the remaining embroidery floss and sucked the spools of thread I had also purchased she decided she wanted to learn sewing as well.  So she climbed up next to me and tried her hand at needle pulling thread.  Enthralled and impatient.

I should mention that this was actually my first time embroidering.  Seriously, I've never done it before.  This is despite the fact that my Baba was one of the most impressive cross-stitchers I've ever encountered. I worked on a little piece that had The Monster's name on it.  And honestly, I could really get behind this kind of hand work.  Look out!

This was the end result.  I moved the fabric in the hoop a few times because The Monster complained that the fabric was dirty whenever we switched colours.  That is, she wanted a fresh slate. Then she got irritated with me watching over her so I let her at it.  That's when she forgot the front to back, back to front lesson.  But isn't it perfect?

Costumes

Have I mentioned before that I am not that big a fan of Halloween?  It isn't about the sugar or the mayhem.  Personally, I've never enjoyed dressing up.  As a kid I went for the laziest costume ever more years.  My favourite was "Fat Jogger". Inevitably there would be snow for Halloween so I would wear my snow suit with a pair of my Dad's sweats on top. No make-up, no mask, no wig. My kind of Halloween.

This year, however, The Monster was ALL about Halloween.  She changed the words to 'Happy Birthday' to be 'Happy Spook Night All Trick or Treaters!' (Try it, it works.) And we had to count down to trick or treating.  Thankfully she had a good long nap and felt well enough.  Both girls have been sick this week so we were worried we wouldn't get out. I had their costumes together.  I can't decided if I'm awesome for putting them together or if my laziness towards Halloween shows?  No answer required.

Go out we did and my little Pink Unicorn and Leprechaun were in fine form tearing around the neighbourhood. And the costumes?  Well, we thought they looked damn cute.

For Little Girls

There are times when I question why I choose the homemade route.  Like at 11:00 pm on a Friday night when I'm exhausted.  But when I see the look on the face of the sweetest, most hilarious two year old I know and her mom it is SO worth it.

One of my dearest friends had the best birthday party for her youngest girl, Ellie, on Saturday. I've known this little one since she was born and I've enjoyed watching her through all her stages. I love to watch her sit on the kitchen counter and help her mom make pancakes, or mother her little babies, or simply move water from one spot to the next.  I see her follow my Monster and her big sister, or kiss Smilosaurus like she was her own little sister.  When you know someone like this and you love them, how can you not stay up late to spoil them?  Sleep is always there.

Details on the apron?  Fabric is a mix of an old Amy Butler (Ginger Bliss), a Michael Miller, some Anna Maria Horner, and some from this quilt, made for the birthday girl when she was born.  And I made the apron the same way I did this one and the one I made for Ellie's older sister.

Happy Birthday El!