Adding seam allowance to homemade pattern pieces

Hey y'all, if you're not a sewer, you might want to just tune out now.  If you are a sewer, you probably already know about this tip.  But I was pretty impressed with myself for coming up with it, so just on the off chance there's someone out there who sews and who also doesn't know this here ya go.

So I took on a sewing challenge recently, making a stuffed toy which is not available for purchase anywhere but on Etsy, for which there is also no pattern available.

So I was piecing together a pattern from various sources, even drawing some pattern pieces myself when I couldn't find any anywhere else, and I ran into a little snag, so to speak.  I would draw the pattern pieces the size I wanted them to be, but then I didn't know how to add a seam allowance.  I mean, I could have just added a line half an inch from my pattern line, but that seemed too difficult, especially on curvy or zig-zaggy pieces and a bit iffy on whether I would end up with the exact size piece I wanted when I was done.  If you have this problem, too, read on...

So.  Draw your pattern piece.  Either cut it out, or don't cut it out--doesn't matter to me.

Pin it to your fabric,

and cut out, not on the line, but give yourself a good amount of extra fabric around the piece.

Sew on the pattern line. That's right: just sew right through the pattern and fabric and everything.
 

When you're done, the pattern will just tear right off.

Trim the piece close to the sewing line and turn right side out.

And that's it! You'll end up with a sewn piece exactly the size and shape you wanted.
 

Obviously, this isn't going to work if you're needing to sew two different sized pieces together, but if you need to sew two pieces that are the same size together, like for making a crown,

or a beak, or wings, or feet, try it--you'll save yourself a lot of grief!

Coat? We don't need no stinkin' coat....

Oh my friends, remember this?  Remember when my precious 3rd grader was leaving jackets at school left and right?  Leaving them like he believed global warming was on its way tomorrow?  It's happening again, my friends, only this time, it's a year later and my treasured 4th grader is leaving behind winter coats.

When I asked him why he left a second winter coat (by the way, his brother is to blame for giving him the second coat to lose--mean mama was just going to let him tough it out and find the first one he lost) on the playground yesterday instead of at least bringing it back inside the school to his hook, he just shrugged.  When I told him that it was going to be cold tomorrow (today) and he was going to need a coat, he said, well why didn't you TELL me that?! (say it again, with an incredulous, almost-yelling voice).

Oh yes, my friends, you read that right: in his opinion, it is my fault that my son chose to leave his winter coat on the playground instead of bringing it home to wear again.  

It is exactly this sort of entitled attitude that prompted author Kay Wills Wyma to embark on a year-long quest to cure her five children of an attitude of entitlement, which she has chronicled in her book Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement.

 

I really liked this book and found it to be incredibly inspiring.  Kids are naturally self-centered beings and it's our choice as parents whether we want to feed in to that, reinforcing their view that the world revolves around them, or teach them to see beyond their own wants and needs and feelings to those around them by showing them how meaningful work can increase self-confidence and concern for others. 

 

Ms. Wyma's approach was both systematic and practical--she lays out her game plan in a way that anyone could duplicate.  The book is also a quick read--I really enjoyed the author's conversational style--as if she and I were girlfriends chatting.  I love the way she shares her family's successes and failures, letting us know up front that, if we're going to try this too, we will most likely be met with resistance and varying degrees of success.  I finished the book feeling inspired, and with the definite conviction that, even if I can't devote a year to methodically teaching my children these skills, any improvement is a step in the right direction--I don't have to do everything perfectly in the experiment in teaching my kids life skills and the value of work for it to be a valuable undertaking. 

 

I was so inspired that I started teaching my kids some life skills before I even finished the book.  I taught my 9 year old son how to do laundry.  After a few loads, he turned to me and said, "this is kind of fun."  And you should have seen the look on my 12 year old son's face when we pulled up to Walgreen's one day, I handed him a dollar and told him to go get some eggs. He could not believe that I was sending him in by himself (I couldn't believe it either), but I knew he could do it, and I wanted him to know he could do it, too. 

 

The thing that really struck a chord with me about the book is this: every time we do something for our children that they can do, themselves, we're sending them an unintentional message that they can't do it, or that we can do it better and faster, which undermines their confidence and makes them want to try less on their own.  And after time and again of getting this message that they are incapable or their effort is not good enough, is it any wonder our kids expect us to do everything for them?  By believing that they can do it, whatever it is, and then standing by to let them do it, we are showing our kids, in a very tangible way, that they are capable.

 

And after all, that's the goal isn't it?  To raise our children to be responsible, capable adults?

 

Want to learn more?  Go here to read an excerpt.

Cleaning House is available in both paperback and Kindle editions.

 

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

 

Did you like this review?  Please take a minute to rank it below:
 

 

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The Tool Fairy

We had a mystery visitor last night, and he came bearing tools.

You see, yesterday evening, Hubby and the soon-to-be 5 year old Bubster were spending some quality time together in the garage.  Not really sure what they were doing in there, but when they came out Bubby told me I had to come see his new tool box--his new tool box that had been Daddy's when Daddy was 5.

All that was in there was a coping saw, but Bubby was so proud and excited to have his very own tool box, and was looking forward to filling it with his very own tools.

So proud and excited, in fact, that the minute he woke up this morning, still in his PJs, warm from his bed, with his eyes still half closed and his words slurred from sleep, he just had to run to the garage to look at his new tool box.  Imagine his delight and surprise when he found several more tools residing in his tool box.

Thank you, tool fairy!

Something a bit...unsettling...happened to me the other day.

So I was in the basement, shopping for wind pants for my 12 year old son, AKD to wear during warm-ups at his chilly, wet soccer tournament last weekend (click here if you want to know why I was shopping in my own basement).  He wears size 12, so I was digging in the size 12 box, and there wasn't anything in there he could use, so I moved on to the size 14 box.

I found the perfect pair of pants--dark blue with white accents (leave it to mom to care more about color than comfort).  So I held them up to kind of gauge the length (do you do that, too, when you're shopping without your kids?), and the pants were...um...actually...a little too long for me.

You can see why it would be important for the warm-up pants
to be blue with white accents, yes?

Too long for me!  Is my baby, who grew in my belly, who came into the world at 20 1/2 inches, really almost taller than me?  How can this be?

Now, of course I've noticed that he's getting taller, and for quite a while now he's been just a few inches shorter than me***, but for some reason the pants just really brought that whole thing home for me.  My baby is getting older, becoming a young man, and there's not one thing I can do about it*. 

That's the goal, of course.  I never intended for my babies to stay babies.  It is the nature of parenthood to work ourselves out of a job**, and that's what will inevitably happen if we do our jobs well.  But knowing that this would happen doesn't make it any less surprising when it actually occurs.  I've gotten used to AKD being a boy, comfortable with him being a boy--he's been a boy his whole life.  And there have been signs of his maturing along the way, of course there have been, but this thing with the pants really threw me for a loop; it's a glaring signpost that cannot be ignored on AKD's road to adulthood.  Time to revise my inner concept of AKD.

As my babies grow, I need to grow, too.  I need to expand my view of them to include their increasing maturity and responsibility and, yes, even height.  I love those boys; I love these future men.

I'm sharing this post with the Parent 'Hood--come on over and join us!

--------------------------------------------------

*OK, so yes, I know that there is a heck of a lot I can do to help or hinder AKD's development as he navigates the minefield of adolescence in the next few years.  I'm talking about the fact that there's not a whole lot I can do to keep him from physically growing into adulthood.  I know that it's more important than ever right now to be consistent in our discipline, constant in our love, and unceasing in our prayers for our young man.  We've been working his entire life to influence his character, show him how to be a man, a real, responsible, stand-up man.  And now is not the time to slack off, just because he's getting taller.

**And yes, I know our job as parents isn't done just because our kids grow up and become independent, contributing members of society, our roles will just change.  But it is our goal to raise these boys to be men, and that will be a major milestone for all of us.

***And, uh, AKD's appetite is insatiable these days, which has always in the past signaled the beginning of a growth spurt (remember those, nursing mommies?) so it won't been too much longer 'til he actually is taller than me.  I'll let you know.

Social Drinking

My (four year old) Roger volunteered to host the next time our moms' book group meets.  I think he just wants to have his friend Car over to play, which can be arranged, my dear Bubby, without inviting a dozen women to my house at the same time.  Anyway, he volunteered, and I agreed, and because it's my nature, even though it's 3 weeks from now, I'm already stressing out about considering how/if/what to serve for refreshments.

{Source}

You see, when people get together, they drink.  Coffee, tea, iced tea, wine, beer.  I don't like coffee, tea, iced tea, wine or beer (not that I think we should be drinking wine or beer at 9 o'clock in the morning)--none of 'em.  Heck, I don't even like soda all that much.  Hot cider and cocoa are fine, at least I don't hate them, but I'd really rather just have ice water.  Or skim milk.

It's a real conundrum.  I want to be social, but I just don't like those social drinks, and I can't bring myself to drink them.  OK, I can bring myself to drink them, but I can't do it without making tortured looking faces.  I can never invite another mom out for coffee, because I don't like coffee.  The baristas (and my invitee) might look at me a little funny when I say, oh, I'll just have ice water, especially when I do not order a pastry to go with it because 1. mine taste better, 2. theirs are overpriced, and 3. I just don't need the calories.

So I'm currently agonizing about social drinks for this little gathering.  Should I make a pot of coffee?  Make hot water (in the coffee pot) and set out instant coffee, hot chocolate, and tea bags?  Do nothing?  Break out the candy cane cocktails and grasshoppers?

I have to tell you, I'm leaning toward the hot water, because I can make a mean hot cocoa station.  I'm a little reluctant to implement this option, however, because I know that there are people out there who feel this way about coffee:
 

{Source}

Maybe I should just warn them that they'll need to bring their own social drinks.

How to have fun fostering creativity in your little one

So I saw this cute thing someone out there in blog-land did with her monster cookies.  You know what monster cookies, are, right?  They are cookies, and they contain all kinds of yummy goodies, like oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chips, m&ms.  There are tons of different recipes out there, but the unifying factor seems to be that they all contain lots of different fun mix-ins.  My hypothesis is that they're called monster cookies because they have a monster of an ingredient list.  Or because monsters will eat anything and everything, and that's pretty much what's in these cookies.

Anyway, Amy, the author of The Idea Room, added wilton candy eyes to her monster cookies.  Isn't that a fun idea?  Now her monster cookies actually look a bit like monsters.  Click here to see.  It's so easy to do, but makes a batch of homemade cookies just a little bit more special.

I wanted to make them.  I mean, they're so cute, right?  So I mentioned them to Roger when I picked him up from school.  "Wouldn't it be fun to make some monster cookies with candy eyeballs?" I asked him.

He liked the idea, but thought it would be better to make m&m cookies.  And he knew we weren't allowed to use the candy eyes that I had purchased for another project (I was willing to make an exception, but he was adamant that we needed to save them), so he said we should use m&ms for the eyes.  Or chocolate chips.  He wasn't sure which.  And, by the way, we should make them spiders instead of monsters, because spiders have 8 legs.

Um, what?  What happened to my cute monster cookie idea?  You know, the one that really wasn't my idea at all?

But I went with it, and we had the best time making spider cookies, which leads me to the subject of this post: how to have fun being creative with your little one.

1.  Have an idea in mind. Many little ones, including my own, are completely intimidated if you just get out some craft supplies and tell them to have at it. So, have an idea in mind, and present it to your child.

2.  Let go of preconceived notions. It's important to have an idea in mind, but don't get too attached to it, because if your kids are going to be creative, they're going to add their own little touches to the project. Or even go an entirely different direction. Let them. Go with them.

3.  Stand back and let the creative process happen. This is not your project, it's theirs...so let it be theirs. Support them, offer suggestions if they get stuck, brainstorm with them, but let it be theirs. If you need to control how a project turns out, make your own.

4.  On that same note, let the kids do it. Sure, you could do it faster, neater, and cuter (and, therefore, more "pin"able), but that's not the point, is it? Let the kids do every.single.thing that they can. Let them measure the sugar, crack the egg (even when it ends up on the counter instead of in the bowl), cut out the wings, glue on the eyes...whatever it is that needs to be done, let them do it, so that they learn that they can. Let them know you're available to help, but only help when your help is requested.

5.  Have fun!  That's what it's all about right?  This is sooooo not about the finished product, but about the process of creating.

The family loved the spider cookies Roger made for them.  And Roger loved that he made them himself.  You know that feeling of pride and self-confidence you get when you do something yourself, even if it's not perfect?  That's what I want for my kids, not a bunch of pretty, but rehashed, already-been-done, uninspired projects that are more mine than theirs.  That's worth so much more than having things done my way.  I'll make some monster cookies with eyes another time :)

Ooops.  I meant to schedule this to be posted October 16, which is tomorrow, but clicked October 9 instead!  Ever have days like that? 

Oh, and I'm sharing this post with the Parent 'Hood--come on over and join us :)

Bragging on my other kid :)

Once again, my friends, you know where the big red X is if you don't want to hear me bragging on my kid.  But you should really stick around, 'cause he's pretty awesome--you're gonna want to hear this :)

 

Our oldest, AKD, played travel soccer for the first time this year.  He's been playing soccer in a rec league since he was 7, but the travel team is another world as far as the level of skill goes.

 

 

AKD has always been one of the two or three best players on his rec team, and it was so great for him to get to play with boys who are better than him, to learn from them.  His coach was pretty awesome, too, and taught him so much about position and technique.  It's a whole different game when the whole team is good, rather than just a few.

 

One of my favorite parts of travel soccer games is, after the boys shake hands with the other team, they, both teams, run by and give the spectators high fives as well.  Muddy high fives, in this case :)

 

The boys went 6-0 in the regular season, with only 1 goal scored against them, earning the championship title in their division.  They were a sure thing to win a spot in the state tournament this past weekend.

 

 

The conditions were horrible.  Could have been worse, but not by much.  It was cold, rainy, and the field was just a mud pit.  The boys won their bracket easily, beating their opponents, in the muddy skating rink the association tried to convince us was a soccer field, 3-0 and 2-0.  The league uses a point system to rank the teams and our boys earned a score of 19 out of a possible 20--none of the other teams in either bracket even came close.

 

So we headed to the championship game.  AKD played center in all three games, and had scoring chances in all three games--here you can see how close he came to scoring in the championship game (he's the player in white with the black hat, sleeves, and gloves).

Plain and simple, our boys were outplayed in their final game.  It was heartbreaking, because I am sure, under normal circumstances, they could have beat that team.  I'm sure they were tired from having played 2 previous games, including one that morning, in the mud (the other team played their 2 previous games the day before, and on a field in good condition).  Oh, but they played their hearts out, and we parents were and are so proud of them!

AKD improved so much over the course of this season and gained confidence in areas of his life other than soccer as well.  I love that he always does his best for the team (even when he's tired and cold and hurting) and doesn't seek the glory for himself.  I am so proud of my boy, and can't wait to see what unfolds for him in the next few years and beyond.

*********

And...here's a better pic of MC playing football--he's on the left.

Just look at that expression of determination on his face--I love it!

Bragging on my kid

Consider this fair warning: this post is all about me bragging on my kid.  If you don't want to hear me bragging about my kid, click the red X now.  Because don't you think a mama is entitled to share with the world how wonderful her kids are?  Don't you think a mama has an obligation to do so?  I mean, who else is going to do it?

MC had his first football game last night and his team did so great!  Red won, beating Navy 14-7.

Sorry--cell phone pics.  From far away.
Not sure where MC is in all that mess, but you can bet he's about to tackle someone

On defense, MC played nose tackle (don't ask me what that is. All I know is he lined up right near the middle, and when the other team snapped the ball, MC plowed through the other team's blockers and tackled whoever had the ball). MC made the first 4 tackles of the game, and ended up with 10 total, including a couple of sacks.

 

MC is the further-most red player on the left

 On offense, MC blocked, and he was like a wall.  Not much got past him.  He's not the biggest kid on the field, but he's got guts and tenacity.

We were so proud of our boy, not just for playing well, but also for staying focused and continuing to play, doing his best all the time, every time, until the whistle blew.

And, not completely off-topic, but...AKD and I had a little fun in the costume section the last time we were at Goodwill.  By they way, they've got TONS of great Halloween stuff.  Not as cheap as you could get at a garage sale, but brand new stuff for about half what it would cost retail.

And yes, I bought the feather boa.  Couldn't resist--it looked so good on him :)

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My Messy House...My Messy Mind

My friends, I am a mess.  And by "I", I mean, my house.  My house is a mess.  And me.  I'm a mess, too.  It's long been espoused that a messy space equals a messy mind, and I have to say I agree whole-heartedly.  My external space perfectly reflects my messy, distracted inner space right now. 

My desk is so cluttered I can't even sit down to pay bills.  When I sit at the computer I just move piles around.  Who knows what's in some of those piles?

There's the corner of my bedroom, where I toss things I don't know what to do with: items to be returned to the store, bags of things I just bought but don't feel like I have time to deal with, uncompleted projects.  There are the 4 laundry baskets overflowing with clean laundry waiting on the floor patiently since Monday, needing to be sorted and put away.

The basket of "female supplies" sitting on the lip of the bathtub that's been there so long I might as well just leave it out now, 'cause I'm going to need it again soon.  The collection of lotions and facewash and who knows what else on the bathroom counter.  The pile of mail that still needs to be dealt with from last week.  The hall closet I'm a little afraid to open because I may set off an avalanche of lightbulbs, paper products, and craft supplies.

The bowl of grape tomatoes on the kitchen counter that just sits there day after day.  Is anyone going to eat them?  Ever?  The sprawling pile of dirty dishes waiting for the clean ones to be unloaded from the dishwasher, along with the dirty dishes that are too big to put in the dishwasher.  I swear they're procreating while we sleep.  The mugs for which we no longer have room in the cupboards sitting forlorn and abandoned on the counter.

The newspaper from Sunday, still on the dining table, along with crumbs from who knows when.  And don't even get me started on the kitchen floor.  It's crunchy, my friends.  Stuff sticks to our feet when we walk. 

The pile of clipped coupons that just keeps growing on the fireplace.  The toys and blankets and pillows and books strewn about on the living room floor.  The ever expanding piles at the top of the stairs, needing to be brought down, and outside the utility room, needing to be put away.  And don't even get me started on the dust.  Where does it come from?  Seriously, does anyone know?

It is just too much.  The harder I work to keep it under control, the more it spirals out of control, and by "it" I mean, both my environment and my inner well-being.  And I...I am a mess.  Inside and out.

I know what the problem is, at least what part of the problem is.  Both in my outer environment and inside my psyche, there are too many things that I just don't know what to do with--I don't know where they belong.  Too many things, too many thoughts, feelings, desires, memories, hopes, dreams, failures, wounds.

You know that I hate clutter.  You know that I am constantly getting rid of things.  But I need to be ruthless, my friends, utterly ruthless and cold-hearted in ridding my life of this unnecessary clutter.  And I need to start with me.

Going Batty--Nine adorable bat crafts

So last week, I shared October's crafts of the month with y'all, and you may remember that one of them was this cute little bat:

What I didn't tell you was, while I was doing my Camp Scarlet Craft of the Month October research, I came across so many cute bat crafts!  It was so hard to decide which one to include in the Craft of the Month Club.  So today, I wanted to show you a few of the other bat crafts I loved.

Use the printable template found at dltk-kids.com and a paper bag to put together this adorable bat puppet:

 

 

 

Source: dltk-kids.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

 

OhMyGoodness!  Have you ever seen anything as cute as this mini-pumpkin turned bat from Family Fun?

 



Source: familyfun.go.com via Shelly on Pinterest

Use your child's footprint and handprints to craft this charming bat from Handprint and Footprint Art.

 

Source: funhandprintart.blogspot.com via Raveena on Pinterest

Check out these sweet bats from Skip to My Lou.  I may need to break my no-food-gifts-for-teachers-unless-there-is-a-pun-involved rule just this once.  Or I may need to dig up a bat pun to go along with them...hmmm...

Source: indulgy.com via Kiran on Pinterest

Your child's fingers become the bat's legs in this delightful bat finger puppet from Family Fun.

Source: familyfun.go.com via Toni on Pinterest

I love these pretty bat finger puppets that my good (virtual) pal Valerie over at Inner Child Fun put together to go with Shel Silverstein's poem "Five Black Bats"

Source: innerchildfun.com via Rosanne on Pinterest

What a fun way to add a little festive to your space with these clothespin bats from Martha Stewart.

Source: marthastewart.com via Amber on Pinterest

And, last, but certainly not least, IrishMomLuvs2Bake uploaded this pic of her gorgeous cookies-n-cream bat cupcakes, using oreo chocolate cupcakes, topped with crumbed whipped cream and a mint oreo cookie with chocolate wafer wings, ears and candy corn tips for teeth.  I wonder if I can get Roger to decide he wants these for his birthday cake?

Source: flickr.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

Happy bat crafting!

In search of...the elusive black sprinkle

I have a friend (Car's mom, actually) who makes cakepops.  Are you familiar with the cakepop revolution?  A fun treat popularized by Bakerella, cakepops are cake crumbs mixed with frosting, rolled into balls, placed on a stick, and dipped in chocolate or candy melts.  Oh yes, my friends, it is...cake on a stick!  (all you Minnesota State Fair fans, you'll understand).

Ever since J first mentioned cakepops to me I've wanted to make them, but since I don't really care for cake, or frosting, or candy melts, I needed to find a suitable cakepop occasion, and a really cute cakepop design.  So I set off on a mission to find the perfect cakepop for my first attempt.

J is too gracious to complain, but I figure she has to be getting a little tired of me sending all these cakepop links to her--it's not like she's an expert, but she is the person in my life who is most knowledgeable on this subject.  Anyway, it was last week when I realized I had crossed over the line into the territory known as obsessed.

I came across these super-cute spooky spider cakepops and immediately knew that I had found the pop I needed to make.

Source: 365cakepops.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

I mean...just look at them--they're adorable.

I quickly recruited my mustache cookie friends and we started planning our cakepop party.  Each of us is responsible for obtaining supplies to make one type of cakepop.  I'm doing the spiders, of course, so I need black candy melts, candy eyes, black string licorice, and black sprinkles.

This morning I had an appointment sorta kinda near that one craft store, so I sorta kinda stopped in before my appointment to pick up my supplies.  I figured they'd all be pretty easy to find at this time of year, so I wasn't worried.

First I saw the black candy melts: check.  Next, the candy eyes, and although the package doesn't say how many it contains, I'm confident that I have enough: check.  The craft store even had black string licorice, which was actually a bit of a surprise to me: check.  All I needed now was the black sprinkles.

But they didn't have any!  They had black sugar, they had mixtures of decors with black in the mix, they had black and white sprinkles mixed together, black sugar pearls, black sparkles, but no just plain black sprinkles.  A quick check of a few other grocery type stores yielded more black sugar, a mixture of purple, green, and black round decors, a mix of black and orange sprinkles, a mixture of purple, black, and orange sprinkles, and a few other types of fun mixtures, but none that were black, and only black sprinkles.

Who knew it would be so difficult?  In fact, I was kind of thinking the sprinkles would be the easiest ingredient to find.

Now, I'm not really worried about this turn of events.  I mean, I would like to make the spider cakepops with black sprinkles, as directed, but I'm sure they will taste just as good and look just as cute with one of the mixtures.

But keep your eyes open, and if you happen to come across the elusive breed of confection known as the exclusively black sprinkle, let me know...

Blink

I was driving home from dropping Bubby off at preschool and I was steaming.  First they insist that I get that stupid form signed, despite the fact that we already had the form signed and on file, and now they were saying we owed them money that we had already paid.  The sky was gray and so was my attitude.  I was seriously annoyed and a storm was brewing in my head.  I was thinking a few choice words about the incompetents who apparently run the show over there, including muttering to myself that if these issues had cropped up last year, when Bubby attended a different campus of the same school, he would be attending preschool elsewhere this year. 

It was ugly.

And then, as if a switch had been thrown, the sun came out from behind a cloud, illuminating the impossibly bright colors of the autumn leaves gracing the trees on either side of the winding road I traveled.  At the same moment, I heard the first few phrases of the song BLINK by Revive coming through the big ol' 'burban's speakers:

Teach me to number my days and

count every moment, before it slips away

take in all the colors before they fade to gray

I don't want to miss even just a second more of this



{Image Source}

WHAM!  It was a message straight from God, if I've ever seen one.  It was as if God was saying, my child, this is not worth the effort you're putting in to being angry.  Let it go.  As if a switch had been thrown in my soul, the clouds that had been gathering in my head, distorting my world view, dispersed, leaving my vision clear to see the beauty that is life. 

And you know, God was right (as is often ok, always the case), this is just not worth ruining my day over.  Those moments that I spent in anger and frustration--a good 10 minutes or so, before God's message broke through--I can never get those back.  Instead of seeing and reveling in the beauty of creation around me, I was seeing red.  What a waste.

Later in the song, the band sings:

I try to hold on tight

but there's no stopping time

what is it I've done with my life

it happens in a blink

when its all said and done

no one remembers

how far we have run

the only thing that matters

is how we have loved

I don't want to miss

even just a second

more of this

What else have I missed by holding on to anger, frustration, disappointment?  No more, my friends.  My choice?  To put aside anger and turmoil; to live in grace in peace.

 

 

If you'd like to listen to the entire song and read the lyrics, here ya go:



(If you read my blog via email, you will need to actually visit the blog to see the video)

Boston Creme Poke Cake

Did someone say Boston Creme?  Um, yum!  Seriously, food of the gods.

Inspired by (what else?) Pinterest, on Sunday I made this for our family's dessert.

Source: thecountrycook.net via Scarlet on Pinterest

Doesn't that just look divine?  It tastes even better. 

I've made Boston Creme Pie (which isn't really a pie) before, but to make it as a poke cake so all that creamy puddingy goodness soaks in to the cake?  Inspired.

The best part?  The rest of the people who live here don't love it, so it's mine!  All mine! (after they each had their polite obligatory piece on Sunday)  I knew this would happen, that I would end up eating most of it, so I halved the recipe, making the cake in two 9 inch round pans (by the way, if I make this again I will use 9 inch square pans, because my pan was literally overflowing with goodness), and freezing one of the cakes and half of the frosting for later.

If you make it, let me know--enjoy :)

Craft of the Month: October

That's right, my friends, it's time for the October craft of the month post!  It is the first full month of autumn and my thoughts have turned to fun, spooky, cute creatures.  This month, craft up a cute little bat, a spider and web, and some glowing jack-o-lanterns.

TP Tube Bat--isn't this guy cute?  Don't you want to make one, like right now?

You will need a toilet paper tube, glue, googly eyes (mine are ~3/8"), white scrap paper (for fangs), brown paper, black or brown marker (optional)

1. Leave the tube as is, if it's brown, or paint it brown or cover it with brown paper.  Just a hint on covering tubes with paper--use a lot of glue, and have some clothespins or other clips handy to hold the paper in place while the glue dries.  I chose to leave my TP tube au natural.
2. To make the ears, fold over one side of the top of the tube, then fold the other side over it.  Basically, you're tucking one side of the tube under the other to end up with some pointy ears.  If you need more help with this step, my crafting idol, Valerie, has a good picture here (it's the 4th picture down) of what you're trying to do.
3. Add googly eyes and fangs (small triangles cut from white paper)
4. Optional: use a brown or black marker to draw nostrils on your bat.
5. Trace hands on brown paper for wings, cut them out, and glue on the back.

And there you have it! 

Bonus: if you wish to animate your bat wings (make them flappable (is flappable a word?)), there are instructions here.  Looks to me like you could easily adapt the instructions to fit this little guy.

Pom pom spider and web--the kids and I made these spiders last year for our pinecone owls to chase.  Not only is this a cute craft, but it is a great way to sneak in some fine motor skills practice for your kiddos.

Source: bluefield5.blogspot.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

For the spider, you will need two pom poms (brown or black is classic for spiders, but wouldn't a hot pink spider just make you smile?), one larger than the other.  I think mine are 1.5" and 1" (but I could be wrong), googly eyes, and two pipe cleaners.

1. Glue small pom pom (head) to large pom pom (body)
2. Glue eyes to head.
3. Cut 2 pipe cleaners in half
4. Stack 4 half pipe cleaners together and twist together in the center. You should have 8 ends, which will become the legs.
5. Shape each end into a Z shape for legs.
6. Glue body to legs (use lots of glue and let it sit undisturbed until dry)

For the web, you will need a small, sturdy paper plate (like Chinet), and yarn (again, black is classic, but use what you have).

1. Punch holes (about 8) around the outside of a small paper plate.
2. Thread a length of yarn through one hole and tie in place.
3. Lace the yarn through the holes in the plate, criss-crossing, until you’re satisfied with the web.

Recycled jar jack-o-lantern

Source: sister-share.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

Click the picture for instructions to make these delightful (ha, ha, punny) jack-o-lanterns using repurposed glass jars, glue, and tissue paper.

A Silly Form--Unsigned

So my Bubby is in his second year of preschool.  I know, hard to believe I'm almost, after 13 years of mommy-hood, finally out of the preschool years.  The time really, truly has flown by, and my little boy is getting so big.  I'm ready, though.  Ready to move on to the next stage of mothering.  I predict there will be no tears shed on my part when my baby boards that bus for the first time next September.

Anyway, this is Bubby's second year of preschool, and they gave us this form to fill out and get signed by his doctor. 

I read forms. 

And I noticed that this form said, under the heading "Instructions,"

Except for a school-aged child, each child 2 years of age or older shall have an initial health examination not more than one year prior to nor later than 3 months after being admitted to a center and a follow-up health examination at least once every 2 years after admission.

I noticed this written on the form last year, because since Bubby's birthday is in October, we have always scheduled his annual exams for October, and I wanted to be in compliance with this form and our state's regulation.  So I went ahead and scheduled his exam for mid-October, had the doctor sign the form, and I turned it in.

They gave us another copy of the form this year.  Actually, they sent us two in the mail with our registration packet, and gave us another one when we missed the registration day due to a funeral.  They're really invested in getting this form filled out and signed.

I read the form again, and figured that we were covered, since it hadn't been 2 years yet since we got the form signed.

But then, about 2 weeks after school started, they sent another one home with Roger.  I meant to go talk to the secretary about it, but I kept forgetting to bring the form with me.

On Friday, I got an email from the secretary basically saying that we needed to get that form signed or they were going to kick Roger out.  She didn't say it quite like that, but that was definitely the subtext.

Really!  Um, don't these people even read their own darn form?  Apparently not.

I sent a polite email back on Friday evening quoting the form and saying that we already have one on file that is in compliance.

I guess I'm not really shocked that whoever is in charge of compliance at the school isn't intimately familiar with the language on the form--it's published by our state's department of children and families, and the school most likely just photocopies it.  And, honestly, there are so many regulations that they have to follow--it would be impossible to keep them all in mind all the time.  I am shocked, however, that they've apparently never run into another parent who actually read the form and decided to hold the school to the language on its own form.

It's not that I have a problem with taking the form to Roger's next appointment and having his doctor sign it.  In fact, I'm planning on having it signed at his appointment that's coming up in a few weeks (which is, by the way, both within 3 months of admittance and within 2 years of the first exam).  I just don't see the need to make a special trip when our family is in compliance with the rules, and I resent that they would threaten to remove my child from their program when the misunderstanding is on their side.

By the way, it's Tuesday and...silence from the school.  Not sure if that means they agree with me, or if they're gathering their guns for another attack.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I don't know how to do this

I don't mean to complain, but I don't know how to do this...

{What am I talking about?  I totally mean to complain.  It just sounds better when I say, "I don't mean to complain, but I don't know how to do this."}
...

I wrote those words a few weeks ago.  The second week of school.  And I'm surprised (blown away is really more like it) and happy to report that it's not true.  Not any more.

I was worried.  Worried about getting it all done.  Not even the housework, which I now know will never be done, but the getting kids to where they need to be with all the stuff they need to have when they get there.

You see, we have long had this rule in our household: only 2 outside-of-school activities per child at a time.  It seemed like a good idea, considering we have three children and only 2 parents in this household, one of whom travels frequently.  Which, just in case you can't do the math, means that a good portion of the time we're down to just 1 licensed driver around here.

This year, for the first time, AKD is playing travel soccer.  Only 2 activities at a time is all well and good, but there is a big difference between the one game a week of the rec league and the two practices and one or two games a week of the travel team.

This year, for the first time, MC is playing football.  Again, there is a big difference between, say, Cub Scouts, which meets 3 times a month, and football, which is 2 times a week.

And let's not forget that children need to be fed.  Even when they have football practice at 5:30 so we have to leave the house at 5 and we don't get home until 7:30.

And teachers tend to get upset if the children don't do their homework.  Even when said child gets off the bus at 4:30 and needs to eat right away so he can leave for his evening activities and has to shower when he gets home at 7:30 and needs to be in bed by 8:15 so he can get up and do it all over again the next day.

I honestly didn't know how it was all going to happen.  When I started this post weeks ago, Hubby was heading out of town for a week, leaving me with 4 nights of overlapping activities--needing to get one child somewhere and then leaving him there to get the next child where he needed to be and leaving him to pick up the first child.  Four nights of leaving the house at 5:45, 5, 4:10, and 5, and having to work supper around those activities.  Four nights of wondering how MC, my child who does not do homework independently, was going to get his homework done.

But you know what?  We did it.  I did it.  It wasn't perfect: there was a little bit of loud urging (not quite yelling) to hurry on my part, and a smattering of complaining from the kids, and MC got grease from his fries on the math worksheet we had to do at McDonald's one night, but everyone got to where they needed to be.

It was my baptism by fire, my friends, and I have come through to the other side stronger.  I do know how to do this.  Not with fear, but in faith, one step at a time.  Not with anxiety, but with grace, knowing that I'm not perfect.

There's something else I wasn't sure I knew how to do.  I didn't know how I was going to raise these boys of mine to be men.  I didn't know how I was going to infuse them with important values and worthwhile character qualities.  I didn't know how I was going to surrender to, and even embrace, the inevitable process of letting them grow into who they are instead of clinging to the little boys I want them to be.  I didn't know how I was going to do it.

Now I know.  In faith, with grace, one step at a time.

I'm sharing this post with the Parent 'Hood--come on over and join us :)