Elsa costume is finished!!

Here’s a sneak peek 🙂

Progress picture

Yes, she’s singing ‘Let it go.’
I may not be able to get it off of her to finish it!

Progress picture

Yes, she’s singing ‘Let it go.’
I may not be able to get it off of her to finish it!

Do you want to build a dress now? Halloween is getting near………

So, after weeks of asking Munchkin what she wants to be for Halloween, and her saying, “I’m Munchkin”, Daddy and I decided to just put her in a pretty dress, let her wear a crown and go.  I started working on a “Belle” dress. Top is finished, just need to do the skirt.

Thursday night, she decided she wants to join in with the majority of little girls in America and be Elsa!  Of course, there was no Elsa costume to be found, so what am I working on now?  That’s right, an Elsa dress.  And, I have all those songs stuck in my head now, just not with the correct words…  “Let me sew, Let me sew……… I’m running out of time now”

I have never seen her so excited over anything I’ve made her. And she does get excited over her new clothes, just not this much! I got the knit parts of the bodice cut out last night. (Finally, after not being able to find my pins after the cleaning I did before the Oldest’s birthday party!  I cleared the dining room table off, but didn’t actually put my sewing stuff away, because I was in the middle of projects, I just stashed things out of sight, yet easy to get back out after the party.  My husband ended up going and getting some straight pins he had in his shop!)

Tonight, I started to spread the blue satin on the table to cut.  She pulled up a chair, yelling, “Elsa! Elsa!  It’s my dress!!!!”  Then, proceeded to start handing me things. (While I’m still trying to get the fabric flat and straight.)  “Here, Mom! You need skissors!  You need Pins!!  You need measure!!!  You need this thing!!  You need your cutter!”  She was entirely too much help.  Finally got started cutting, gave her a few scraps, and she was happy to go play with her “Elsa scraps.”

It is going together so much easier than I expected!  Skirt is finished.  Front bodice is finished!  Back satin bodice piece is shirred!  Just have to put back bodice pieces to front piece, add sleeves, attach to skirt and decorate!   Oh!!  And do the cape. I completely forgot the cape!  I’ve even had that fabric just for when I decided to make this dress for about 2 months now.

The reason I looked for an already made costume, even though I’ve been planning on making this dress at some point is that I am really dreading doing all this work and it being destroyed while out trick or treating.  The cape will be detachable, though.  And I’m betting it will end up being detached.

Grumpiness is getting contagious around here!

Exciting news for me – I got several new props and a back light this week!  I’m actually excited to do an indoor session, and usually, I like outdoor sessions so much better.  And, I had sessions all weekend, now busy editing this week.

Other than that,  it’s one of those days that I’m ready to throw in the towel.  My house is a wreck, laundry is piled high, Munchkin is constantly making huge messes, I need to hem a dress, family room needs rearranged to fit in the treadmill, and the oldest is having one of his very disagreeable, grumpy, won’t say what’s wrong weeks. And believe me, he’s grumpy. And making life difficult.

Yesterday, I fixed sandwiches for lunch, had his started, and he said he didn’t want it. So, I ate a sandwich made with stuff I didn’t want.  He couldn’t decide what he wanted, offered a sandwich a few more times, among other things  I was going to a studio to buy props with my sister, and I told him I’d pick up something for him.  Then he griped because I put up the sandwich stuff before he got one.  Reminded him he didn’t want a sandwich, and I’d pick whatever he wanted up.  He didn’t know what, so I told him I’d call before we headed home.

We’re ready to head home, I call, he still doesn’t know what he wants, and gripes again that I put the sandwich stuff away.  I reminded him he said he didn’t want a sandwich, I ended up eating one that wasn’t made the way I wanted, and if he wanted a sandwich, it only takes a couple minutes to get stuff back out and make one, all he has to do is tell his younger brother. He doesn’t want a sandwich. He doesn’t want anything in the town I’m in, so I tell him I’m going through the town we live close to, and I’ll pick him up a piece of pizza if he wants. He asks if I can get him a chicken salad sandwich. Sure!  No problem!!  He actually sounded happy for the first time all day!!!!

We get one mile out of town and I got a text. “I don’t want chicken salad now.”

UUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today has pretty much been the same way.  He refuses to get on the treadmill or do anything I ask. He just mopes around, being grumpy, and not wanting anything that is cooked, he wants something else.

And right now, Munchkin is being whiny and clingy.  Wants to watch her princess movie, but won’t go watch it, claiming her brother shut it off. I can hear it playing in the other room.

I really think I’m just going to fix myself a margarita.

Pinterest

I am addicted to Pinterest.  Seriously.  I have boards for almost everything, and have even had to split up some boards to make them more manageable – “recipes” has 2 spin-offs so far, “recipes that have passed the test” and “Sweet stuff to try.”  No, wait, I forgot about “What a Crock” for crockpot recipes!

I was really bad about just randomly pinning things.  Who am I kidding? I still am, but, I am making a conscious effort to actually attempt to do what I’m pinning.  Well, at least most of it.  Maybe some of it?

So, having said that, here’s what Munchkin and I did today with finger paints!  🙂

Sometimes, when trying to get a 2 year old to cooperate, you have to reword your directions, and speak very clearly!!

“Show me your pictures!”

“Turn them around”

“No, turn the Pictures around, Show me your pictures!”

“Yeah, that’ll work.” 🙂

Just let me know, Son!!!!!

My oldest son had a lot of problems with his catheter while he was in the hospitals.  Once, it was left in for weeks longer than it should have been – this happened after changing hospitals, I don’t feel there was enough communication?  It would also become blocked. We ended up at the ER more than once. The worst ER visit was utterly ridiculous!  Several hours in the bright, busy, hallway with him on his gurney, fighting his father and I horribly!  He kept trying to take his trache out.  On one of my many trips to the nurse’s desk for help, I was informed that we were his parents, we should be able to handle him.  Excuse me?!  We were in no way medically trained, and had no training whatsoever on traches, or how to “handle” a TBI patient who was in pain! I did remind this man, who was supposed to be a nurse, that my son had a TBI, and they had him in a brightly lit, busy area, and that he needed to be in a quiet, darkened room!!  We were also going on several HOURS that his catheter had been completely blocked!!!!    Let’s not forget, I was also about 8 months pregnant at this time. I have also been told that his bladder ended up getting perforated.  Yes. I am still very bitter about that visit.  It ended up being over 8 hours before they finally got a dr in that was able to finally get him some relief. That is one hospital that our family will NOT go to unless there is absolutely no other alternative!!!!

I really believe that all those problems are causes behind his current problems of bed wetting, and not always making it to the bathroom in time.  I believe that, and understand that.  But, I do have to ask, Why can’t he just TELL me when he’s had an accident instead of just leaving the room and leaving the mess for me to find?????? Especially when I just had to clean up a spill from his 2 year old sister, doing laundry, making his bed, and all I wanted to do was cut out a princess dress for Munchkin.

That’s just Rude!

What gives people the “right” to go around asking personal questions that are really none of their business? Or, making comments on issues that are personal.  Do they seriously not think? Where have manners gone?

I am so tired of hearing “Are you finally going to put this one in school?”   I have been getting asked this question since I was pregnant!!!  Seriously, what business is it of anyone else’s??  You don’t catch me going around, asking people, “So, are you finally going to pull your child out of school?”  I don’t because it’s none of my business, not to mention, it is a PERSONAL decision that each family needs to make for themselves!!  Right now, I just want to scream, “SHE’s 2!!!!!!!!!  Let her be little!!” My friend really thinks that I should start replying, “Are you going to start home schooling?”

My husband is tired of hearing “She was an accident, wasn’t she?” That question was asked frequently while I was pregnant, but, yes, it is Still being asked.  Isn’t that something nice for her to grow up hearing? Isn’t anything “off-limits” these days?

 

Truth

Little ones are watching and learning

Munchkin got her first “real” tricyle today, she’s been so excited to “pedal, pedal, pedal!” as she’s been saying for several days now.

What somewhat surprised me is, at the store, she finally got her “bike” picked out and in the cart, then she went immediately to the helmets and started trying them all on.  It took her what felt like forever to pick out the helmet!  There were no questions, no debates, nothing, she just automatically knew that if she was getting a bike, she was also getting a helmet.  Daddy and big brother never ride their dirt bikes without helmets.  In her mind, you do not ride without a helmet.

I have to admit, and feel somewhat guilty about this, but, my 2 year old is smarter than I am.  Of course, the dirt bikes are not to be even turned on without a helmet on, but, she’s just getting a tricycle, even if she is calling it a bicycle and a her bike.  She’ll probably ride it in the house more than anywhere else, and definitely won’t be going at high speeds.  For some odd reason, I wasn’t even thinking of a helmet.  How could I, the mother of a recovering TBI survivor not think about a helmet???? Just because my son’s TBI was result of a car wreck, I know that it doesn’t have to be something huge and major to cause a TBI. A simple fall with a bad landing, even off of a trike, could have a horrible ending.

Needless to say, she got her helmet, a cute little purple one that came with “bling” that can be moved around into the several holes all over it.  She’s been putting it on all evening when she wants to get on her bike,  and I have been stopping whatever I’m doing to help her, this is a habit that needs to be reinforced, and she’s absolutely correct, it’s easiest to start right off the bat doing things the correct way than it will be to establish a new habit later on when she’s on a bigger bike.