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October 2009

Make it Work!

, 8

My new favorite show is Project Runway.  This is the first season I’ve watched, and I just love it.

I watch in awe as the designers design, shop for, and then create these amazing outfits in a day or two.  I think part of the reason I like it is because I don’t know anything about sewing so when anyone sews anything, I’m immediately impressed.  Also, they make it look so easy.  So easy that sometimes I start fancying myself a designer, thinking I could do that–just whip out a dress on a whim.

Therefore, I blame Project Runway for putting the idea into my head that I could sew our Halloween costumes this year.  Never mind that I don’t know what I’m doing.  Never mind that I don’t have any supplies or patterns, and that even if I did have them, I wouldn’t know how to use or read them.

By all accounts, this endeavor was doomed to fail.  However, surprisingly, the costumes are coming along better than I expected.  (It was a little touch-and-go when I realized I needed to attach sleeves to my costume.  Sleeves!  I contemplated throwing modesty out the window at that point, because, hey, if there’s one thing I learned from the movie Mean Girls, it’s that Halloween costumes should be as skimpy as possible.  However, I stood strong and found a way to make them.)

We’ll post pictures soon, but now I need to get back to the sewing machine!

She Said…

, 6

We went outside after a storm.  There were leaves everywhere.

Brooke:  “Mom!  Leaves!”

Me:  “Yeah, there are leaves everywhere.”

Brooke:  “Mom, vacuum it!”

***

We were at a family party.  Someone’s friend had brought his dog.  The dog was the size of a small pony.  Brooke happened to trip and the dog went over and sniffed her.  Brooke scrambled to her feet, ran a safe distance away from the dog and said,  “Don’t eat Brooke!”

***

I gave Brooke a glass of milk.  She doesn’t normally like milk, but she insisted she wanted it.  She took a sip and said, “Mom, I do like it!  In fact, I love it!”

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Growing Up

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Caroline is quickly outgrowing her bassinet.  This has necessitated moving Brooke from her crib to a toddler bed so that Caroline can take up residence in the crib.

We got the bed set up in the girls’ room.  Brooke loved jumping on it and pretending to sleep on it.  However, come bedtime, she didn’t want anything to do with it.  That was okay.  We let her sleep in her crib for a few more days to get used to the idea of the toddler bed.

Dallas and I kept talking up her “big girl bed” and how it would be so fun to sleep in.  This sort of backfired on us because Brooke then started referring to the crib as the “big girl bed” and the toddler bed as “Caroline’s bed.”  Uh-oh.  I mean, it makes sense–the crib is bigger than the toddler bed so I can see how she was confused.

Finally, one night Brooke decided she wanted to sleep in the toddler bed.  She got a little scared as she was falling asleep, but got over that pretty quickly and has slept great at night ever since.

Nap time has been another story.  Once Brooke realized the freedom that comes from not being trapped by crib bars, there’s been no second thoughts about returning to the crib.  More often than not, nap time has turned into play time for Brooke.  I guess that’s okay because I still get a break from her, but it comes with a cost.  After “nap time” is over, I have to deal with the aftermath which usually includes toys everywhere and every stitch of clothing thrown from her dresser drawers onto the floor.  (Actually, it was worse.  The first day we tried nap time in the bed, we left her closet open.  Big mistake.  Dallas keeps a filing cabinet in her closet filled with all of our medical records, insurance papers, credit card statements, etc.  Can you guess what our darling did?  Yeah, she emptied it.  That took FOREVER to clean up.  We were not happy.  The filing cabinet is now securely locked…and the closet doors are tied shut, just for good measure.)

Sometimes Brooke does fall asleep and I rejoice on those blessed days (today being one of them!).  However, I wonder if the toddler bed was even necessary.  She seems to prefer the floor.

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Noise at Night

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Last night I put Brooke to bed.  A couple of hours later I heard her yelling for me.  She never wakes up in the night and calls for me, so I ran in to make sure everything was okay.

I found Brooke lying in her bed with her covers on the ground, her pants down, and one side of her diaper open.  She said, “Fix diaper, Mom!”  I did.  She said, “Thanks, Mom!”  Then I tucked her in bed again, told her I loved her, and kissed her good night.

The weirdest thing is, I can’t decide if she was actually awake during all of that.

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