Guess I Needed To Catch Up On My Sleep!

I didn't abandon you...I just fell asleep. I've been sleeping for like, three days. No wait, I think four.

Remember how I talked about baking? Well...that didn't happen, of course. Nothing goes as planned around here, and you should know that by now.

So here's the story...I had planned ahead. Steven had gotten a few boxes of brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil and a roll of Pillsbury peanut butter cookies, all for me to make for the Staff Appreciation Day on Thursday at the elementary school that Ethan and Claire go to. I ended up falling asleep after I dropped Allison off at school Wednesday morning, and didn't wake up until 2:30. I have to pick the kids up at three, so no baking during the prime hours. I DO NOT make stuff like that when they are home and awake because they want to eat it, so I decided to wait until they went to bed to make everything.

Ethan and Claire are finally asleep, so I'm getting everything ready but, I can't find the vegetable oil. I know for a fact it WAS THERE at some point, but now it is nowhere to be found.

Come to find out, Allison's art class has been doing linoleum printing and she had gotten a little bit of ink on her shirt. Her teacher told her it was permanent and wouldn't come out, but, she remembered the teacher telling them if they spilled it on the table or whatever to use vegetable oil to wipe it up. So...she decided to go ahead and try it on her shirt. The. Whole. Bottle. She put her shirt in her bathroom sink and poured in the Whole. Bottle. of oil, then got an old toothbrush and started scrubbing. Believe it or not, it worked! Then she used some regular soap to wash that out. Her shirt was saved but no brownies were being made.

Oh well, I'll just make the cookies. It's ten o'clock at night anyway; this will be quick and easy; lots of other people are bringing stuff too, so we'll have enough.

*whistling while I'm heading to the fridge...

Open up the refridgerator door, grab the roll of cookie dough, but, oh no! It's only HALF A ROLL! Someone had EATEN HALF. OF. THE. ROLL. OF. COOKIE. DOUGH.

I hate to name names but, I will say that this person's name rhymes with "Ballison."

I had to be at school Thursday morning at 7:45, so there was no baking happening before then. I did get to go and pass out other treats and hot chocolate to a bunch of teachers and all of the office and cafeteria staff, and that was a lot of fun. We are very lucky to have such a great bunch of people working at our school!

Pretty much slept all day Friday, too. Ethan had a doctor's appointment that afternoon, so I was awake for a little while...and was even planning to go to Yarnivore, our cool local yarn shop, to knit and hang out and watch Kristin do a spinning demo (!) that I had been looking forward to for the last two weeks but, guess what I did instead. That's right! I FELL BACK ASLEEP! I needed it though...Spring Break is coming soon, and I gotta get ready!

Also, I did not forget about the 'Name That Dressform' Contest. If I hadn't been asleep for the last four days, I could have made something already but...just more time to get the word out right? I might get like, 6 comments!

I am going to make the prize (I already know what I'm going to make, I just have to stay awake long enough to make it) take a picture and get it going. Somebody give me a wake-up call in the morning!

The Big Reveal...and more!

Here's the Big Reveal of my Super Find at the Paper Bear shop in San Marcos:

This may not be a big deal to others, but, I have been looking for a cool dressform for a really long time! And I have found some...but then I can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on them when I have 3 kids, several Psychologists, Therapists, a Psychiatrist, and soon to be an Orthodontist to support.

***All of you thinking about having kids: be aware that they come with many accessories!

Anyway, I fell in love with her at first sight and she was only $95 dollars. Since I didn't get anything for Valentine's Day from Steven, this was my gift to myself. Now I just have to name her. I have a few ideas, but nothing seems to stick. Any ideas, anyone? Hey! I have an idea! I'll have a "Name My Dressform" Contest, and send out a little something for the winner! I've never had a contest before and now I'm all excited! OK-give me a day or two to come up with a prize, then I'll open it up. Start spreading the word, tell all of your friends, then tell them to tell two friends...lol!

Hey MOM! You CAN COMMENT you know! All you have to do is click on the "Anonymous" button, then after you type in your comment, just sign it "Mom" so I know who it's from. Everybody else's Mom's comment on their blogs, ya know. I feel really left out and unloved. :D

Check this out: I am actually making a dress, for Claire, all on my own! I have never actually made clothing from start to finish by myself. I always saved the hard parts...like button holes, bias tape, zippers, etc... for my mom who was constantly begging, "Please, Lauri! Start something you can't finish then hand it all over to me! It's my favorite thing!"

See, if you don't comment, you can't defend yourself....

So I started this last night:

It's a short dress/long shirt that she can wear with leggings or jeans, and a t-shirt underneath. You are probably asking, "Lauri, did you actually use a pattern???". Well, I started out with one. I have wanted to make something like this for her for a while now, and finally found a pattern that was close enough to what I wanted, and easy for me to customize. Well, the pattern instructions may as well have been written in Japanese for all I could understand. Wait. Actually, I have tons of Japanese Craft books and I can follow those easier than I can this pattern. It made no sense. Plus, the little cutout arrows that you are supposed to be able to line up? There must have been a big misprint on either the front or the back pattern pieces, as they were several inches apart, and it I followed those, there would have been serious problems with the neck and armholes!

This pattern also called for bias tape around the neck and armholes. I have never done that. And the directions and illustrations were apparently written and drawn by aliens, and made no sense at all. So...I finally just scrapped the pattern, lined up the shoulders and armholes, and sewed the front and back together. Then I did my own thing with the bias tape. Whatever it was that I came up with worked great! I got the neckline and one armhole done, and then it was about 1:00 am and I couldn't even see anymore. Plus it was looking really huge and I wanted Claire to try it on before I got too much more into it, incase I needed to make adjustments.
Getting her to stand still was like pulling teeth!


I made it off of a size 8 because I would like it to last a little bit...she is going through a major growth spurt and is now 50" tall! She's almost up to my shoulders and she's only in First Grade!

Anyway, I do like the length, the armholes fit well, but it seems a little bit big along the neckline. Oh well, if that's the lease of my worries I'm doing good. If you notice in the first picture of it above, on the dress form, there is some pink coordinating fabric that I am going to use to add a ruffle along the bottom, as well as 2 pockets. You gotta have pockets! I remember making my mom add pockets to everything she made me! The thing is, I have this idea for the pocket I want, but, of course there is no pattern, so I'm going to have to work it out on paper. I'll let you know how it goes.

Now I need to get back to my baking...yes, I said "baking". It's for the Staff Appreciation Day at the elementary school tomorrow. Hmmm...baking and sewing all in the same day?!? What is happening to me, people?!?