when your four year old is outsmarting you...

Let me begin by saying that I did manage to complete MM's dress. It took me a bit longer because I made too many mistakes, had to rip out whole sections and finally just hand stitched sections! I learned a lot about my abilities and feel better about the next one I am going to attempt. I watched some videos on how to make a pillowcase dress and will attempt it but not using a pillowcase but some fabric that I already had. I will only need to buy some ribbon and some thread because I have everything else. I have a pattern for pockets and will use it because my daughter thinks that pockets are necessary in all of her clothes.

I have listed comments that MM has made in the past, but as she gets a little older and more education, she is getter better and better; here a few:

1. I was working on cleaning out my office (still not there yet) this weekend and MM came into the room, looked around, put her hands on her hips, nodded her head and tells me, "Mommy, you are doing a good job, it looks much better in here, keep up the good work!" and then walked out.

2. After trying on the dress that I made, she noticed a thread that I missed trimming and informed me that it was coming "unsewn" and that I needed to concentrate better when I make her the next dress.

3. MM said that I would need to hurry up and start working on a dinosaur costume for BJ since I only had a few weeks before they "hit the street." She then went upstairs to my closet and practiced knocking on doors and saying "Trick or Treat!" (She has only gone trick or treating once)

4. After playing with her brother for about two hours, she sat down, and said,"Wow, I have been helping brother all day! I deserve a break, it is your turn now mommy."

5. My parents go to Florida in the winter, coming back home for the winter holidays, and then going back at the beginning of January. I told MM that they would be coming home for the holidays. MM asked if they would be back in a few weeks and when I told her that it was too soon, that she had to wait until the holidays, she responded, "Well, Halloween is a holiday!"

*** Please note, MM is very sweet and helpful, but she comes up with some real zingers sometimes. When they are terrible (like her new rhyming game, duck, truck, stuck, f&#%, thank you truck driver daddy!), I have a conversation with her, but sometimes I giggle privately. ***

Finding balance

I got paid today. In a matter of ten minutes, I spent all of it. Not on anything really, just daycare, bills and groceries. No longer am I supporting the economy in any meaningful way. I am just paying bills and buying groceries. I also got gas for the van which was just in the nick of time because my 18 gallon vehicle took 17.999 gallons!

When I was without family obligations, I thought that the only thing I really needed was to be able to pay my bills. I did not know that I needed more than that. I sometimes wish I could go back in time and slap myself around! If only I knew what a waste some of those things were! The one thing I will never, never, never regret is anything I did and bought in England. If I had the money now, I would go there to see my friends, especially my friend who is expecting twins after years of infertility.

Last week I got some fabric to make a dress for MM. She loves dresses and most of them cost nearly $20, so I got a pattern when the local fabric store had a super sale on patterns- 99 cents when they are normally $15. So, I got a coupon in the mail for 20% and fabric was on sale for 30% which meant that I would save 50% on the fabric and 20% on everything else. I worked all last weekend (ok not all but it felt like it!) on cutting the pattern and navigating the directions. It has been close to 10 years since I sewed anything,  I really was trying to remember what to do (and ripping out mistakes!). I did not get in done for Monday, but MM thought I should have it done. When she wanted to wear it to school on Monday, and it was not done, she said, "You are not done yet? But you had all weekend!" Such a taskmaster!

I am going to finish the last bits this weekend and I have decided to also make a pillowcase dress for her as well. I figured I could satisfy her dress obsession for pennies on the dollar if I made them myself. I even have some ribbon that I bought years ago to do crafts and now I can use it to decorate dresses! I only wish that I could do the same for BJ, nothing is as easy as dresses for boys! I have been watching YouTube videos to get all the secrets to completing the dresses; now I need to find plain long sleeved white shirts to put under them.

My next adventure is to make her a Cinderella/Rapunzel/Princess and the Frog dress for her to wear for Halloween!

Funny how things that were important before are no longer important.