Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Baby Kitty's Underwear

Underwear is a big thing in our house.  My three year old Jonas not only loves to pick out which undies he wants to wear in the morning, but he also decides which ones his stuffed animals Baby Kitty, Mama Kitty, and Airplane get as well. 

I love Baby Kitty, because Jonas speaks through her.  When Baby Kitty doesn’t feel well, I know Jonas doesn’t either and when Baby Kitty is tired, I know Jonas is, too.  Baby Kitty even tells me all about Kindergarten.

So when I saw that Jonas’s underwear were way too big for Baby Kitty, I knew what to do. One morning while he was at Kindergarten, I sewed up a pair of undies for his beloved stuffed animals.

Jonas was so happy that his Kitty now had underwear that he showed everyone in his Kindergarten.  I think I am going to have to start making more clothes for Baby Kitty…

How to:
Unfortunately, I cannot show how I made these underwear.  I had such a limited amount of time and I had never made underwear before, so I did everything in the wrong order. Seriously, I've never found a project to be so difficult, which looked so simple.  Luckily, I’m pretty good at covering things up, so they still turned out pretty cute. 

If you want to make underwear for your kids stuffed animals, you could buy a pattern.  But, what would be the fun in that?

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Big Boy Bedding


Before I had kids, I thought that you only lost sleep the first six weeks after a child was born.  Boy, was I naïve!  I never realized that sleep problems continue and change as children grow and their world expands.

My first born Jonas is already three.  He used to be a great sleeper, and then last summer the nightmares started.  First he was scared that a truck was going to drive into his room, then later he had a horrible fear of elephants.  In addition to this, his blankets were always falling off his bed and he would call out a few times a night, “Mama, tuck me in!”

The bedding issue was more complicated then it sounds.  Three year olds are picky!  Jonas has three blankets, one fleece, one fake down blanket and one crocheted.  He needs to have them on in that order, too.  Like I said, three year olds know what they want.

I finally decided to make him a new blanket that combined what he loved about the other three.  I knew that I would have to sell it well, or he wouldn’t accept it, so I worked hard at making it perfect.  I got blue fleece for the underside of the blanket and construction vehicle material for the other side.  I put a slit on the bottom where a down blanket could be put in for more warmth in the winter and added a piece of extra material that could be tucked under the mattress so that the blanket wouldn’t fall off. 

Luckily, the nightmares have gotten a bit better as he has started to understand the difference between reality and dreams and he’s not waking up as often as he used to. Jonas also loves his new blanket.  He is entirely capable now of tucking himself in, although he prefers to do it with one leg always on top of the blanket and one underneath. I don’t mind, as long as he falls back asleep.

I also decided that since I had the sewing machine out, I might as well make a blanket for Lukas, too.  He is now getting old enough to like a blanket and be capable of keeping one on at night.  Lukas's blanket is a bit smaller and can also be used as a duvet-cover, only I did not add the extra flap on the bottom.  As you can see on the pictures, both boys loved their comfy blankies.

How-to:
1.  This blanket was actually very simple.  First, measure the duvet that you are going to cover and add at least an inch and a half around the side.  The underside of your blanket, I used fleece, will be this size.  Then measure the top of your blanket, I used construction material, but add an extra 18 inches to the length (this is the flap that you tuck in under the mattress later).  For an added touch, I cut a strip of the construction material and sewed it on to the length of the fleece before I cut it, so that when the bedspread is folded over, you see both fabrics. 

2.  Now, sew the bottom end of the fleece and the flap of the top material by folding over the edges of the material twice and making a nice seam. 

3.  Lay the two pieces of material on top of each other with the good sides facing each other.  Pin all edges.  First sew the bottom of the fleece where you have made the seam to the top material about 10 inches in on both sides.  This hole is where you can add the duvet later when the weather gets cold.  You can add snaps if you want so that the duvet stays inside.  Then sew the other three sides of the blanket together and turn back righ-side-in.  For a finishing touch, iron the blanket flat and sew around the edges from the outside one more time.  Your blanket is finished!  Good job!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

The Plague, Supermom, and the Promise of Spring

Thank goodness for spring.  I love spring.  It is the one thing that helps me get through winter, and this past winter was extremely long.  From November through February, our house had the plague; Someone was always sick.

It's amazing how the Mom-mobile can go on auto-pilot.  Having little kids meant that I also sick, too and was constantly running around like a zombie.  Even though I hadn't slept in days, I somehow managed to change one child's sheets for the third time at three in the morning, clean up the mess from my other child,  get them both to stop crying and sleep and still make it through the day.  Through all of the dirty diapers, medicine giving, and finally finding time to do laundry, clean the house, and make dinner, I had no time to blog, much less check my social networks for birthdays and messages.

And then.... my flowers started to come up.  My kids noses stopped running and they quit being so cranky.  My house finally got clean and my laundry got folded.  The sun came out again.  And finally, I turned my computer on and checked my blog and realized I couldn't wait to get started.

Thanks for sticking around.  Have a wonderful spring!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Blessings Countdown Calendar - Guest Blog

I just love this Advent Calendar from Jen's Ink Spot!  It has such a personal touch and fits in with the true spirit of Advent. Instead of chocolate or little gifts, it shares blessings that the family has received throughout the year.

Behind each number card is a photograph representing a memory. These cards can then in turn be hung as ornaments on the tree. When Christmas is over, the cards can then be put in a scrapbook to show blessings from the past year. What a great way to share Advent with your children!

I’ve been friends with Jennifer since the fourth grade, and I’m so proud of all of her creative accomplishments. Her blog Jen's Ink Spot has great ideas for how to make cards of all kinds. If you would like to check it out and see how to make this fantastic Advent Calendar, just click on this link:  http://jensinkspot.blogspot.de/2012/11/blessings-countdown-calendar-with-lil.html

Have a wonderful Advent!
Kelley

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

15 Min Construction Site Birthday Cake Deco


This year Jonas’s third birthday hit right in the middle of family flu season.  Luckily, Jonas was already over the flu.  Unfortunately, my husband wasn’t, I was on antibiotics for strep, and Lukas was in recovery.  

Talk about multi-tasking!  Between bringing my boys to bed and  taking care of my sick husband, I only had a couple of hours to decorate the house, bake and decorate the cake, and get all of the gifts ready for the birthday party.

I originally had big hopes for Jonas’s birthday cake and had planned on spending a lot more time making it really perfect. As a mother, though, I’ve learned that you often have to make compromises, or nothing gets done.  Luckily, my sister-in-law Regina had given me some construction candles (I'm sure Hotwheels would also work) and I was able to rethink the cake and come up with an idea that was extremely quick and still did the trick. I don't know exactly how long I had to decorate this cake, but I'm pretty sure it was under 15 minutes. 

While I was decorating the cake with my hands full of sticky bright frosting (I couldn’t find my decorating tools, so I had to spoon the frosting into a Ziploc bag and cut the corner cut off) I was thinking - Hopefully Lukas will sleep tonight, instead of waking up screaming of an earache like the last few nights.  Hopefully, my husband won’t be out of order more than a day or two.  Hopefully, Jonas won’t wake up either, and I’ll get a good nights sleep, which I desperately needed.  I’d already come to the conclusion that we mothers really don’t have time to get sick and when we do, we have to do our best to just ignore it and keep going. 
  
Somehow, I managed to get it all done and it wasn’t until I had just laid down in bed to sleep that Lukas started crying.  Nonetheless, in the morning, when Jonas woke up, went down the stairs and saw his cake and gifts waiting for him and he smiled that huge it’s my birthday smile, nothing else mattered. 

“Mama, Lukas can have one half of the cake, and I’ll have the other half.” Turning three really is fantastic.   

Monday, September 24, 2012

Rainy Day Driving

The German rainy season has now begun.  Even though my children both have plastic overalls, rain jackets, and rubber boots that they can wear outside when it's muddy or drizzling, some days it just rains too hard.

Lukas is now 16 months old and he loves to ride his bobby cars (see picture of Lightning McQueen car) all around our neighborhood. Unfortunately, since Lukas has been driving his car outside all summer, the tires are all worn and rough. Most homes here have wood floors, not carpet, so those tires would easily leave a bunch of race track scratches all around the house.

Therefore, I decided to make Lukas's car inside-proof! I cut strips of flannel (felt would work, too) and glued them around the tires.  Then I added a strip to the front for a bumper.

This was a very simple project that made my son very happy.  He can now drive his car all around the house, which is good for his health and my wood floors.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The Hairy Bunny

For me the days before sleep training were the worst, worrying about how awful it was going to be.  I was so accustomed to having my little boy next to me, cuddling on my arm and holding my hair tightly gripped in his hand.  How would he react to being all by himself?

Often when I would try to loosen that grip on my hair, he would wake up as if he was startled, cry out and then grab my hair and pull it toward him.  There was no way he was going to sleep without Mama’s hair…and that was a problem.

I tried to wean him off my hair the few days leading up to sleep training, but I was only mildly successful.  I tried giving him his stuffed kitty instead, but he out tricked me.  He held the kitty in one hand and my hair in the other.  I tried giving him a little horse with a mane of hair like a Barbie dolls, but he knew the difference, even at 4 a.m.

Whenever Lukas was hurt or fussy, all he needed was my hair to calm down.  Even while I was still nursing him, my hair was his main source of comfort.  How was I ever going to sleep train this little guy without having to stick my head in the crib?

I finally decided to cut off a fairly long lock of hair.  I tied it in a knot and then while holding the knot taut; I sewed it to a ribbon.  I then tied the ribbon in a knot around the hair knot and then tied this ribbon on to his stuffed lamb.  My hope was that having a little bit of my hair in his crib would give him that little bit of comfort that he needed.  I even sprayed a bit of perfume on the lamb so that it would smell like me. 

Lucky for me, sleep training went really well and wasn’t at all as difficult as I had expected.  Lukas loves his crib now.  Yesterday after his nap I spied on him.  He was sitting in his crib holding his lamb, pulling my lock of hair through his fingers in his own little world.  And, although a part of me still wished that it was connected to my head, I was glad that he was happy without me.