Shark Bite

I’m really trying to use the fabric I have, both because I said I would and because it’s highly inconvenient to go to a store and browse for fabric.  I’m ignoring the whole universe of buying fabric online, because, again, I need to deal with the current fabric situation.

Being a quilter is great because you can save all the small scraps for future quilts, but I’m accumulating scraps more rapidly than I’m making quilts.  To really make a dent I could make a giant quilt, but one hand quilting project at a time.  My summer goal is to rewatch all of Mad Men, start to finish, finishing a quilt from a few years ago in the process.  Maybe we’ll have a blog series called What I Worked on With Peggy Olson.

Some gray scraps will never make it into a quilt, because I recently used them to make a shark bag.  It was inspired by my niece Carolena, who is planning a Jaws themed birthday for the big #4.  I wanted to make a shark bag for her, shaped like a shark with the zipper for teeth.  This was the first pattern I found, for a pencil case, and I think I’m going to make something different for her.  It’s smallish.

I see more shark projects in our future.

Sink or Swim Situation

My parents have planned some renovations on their home.  Builders will get them started, then they’re going to do about half the work themselves.  They have each separately expressed to me that they think their part is going to take a long time, that starting in June they will probably be finished by November.  Because they never call me (although once every two or three years I will get a text about a pet dying or a family member in the hospital- but only the hospital text a few days after the event) and yet I’ve talked to both of them on the phone about it, I suspect that they’re a little apprehensive about the amount of time it will take.

But wait, isn’t it two adults working on it, with full days devoted to the project?  No stopping what you’re doing because Holly dumped a cup of milk on the couch?  (2 hours ago)  No one climbing somewhere they shouldn’t be and needing to be rescued with great haste but without any startling movements?  (1 hour ago)  No one getting his head stuck between wooden fence posts?  (Also 1 hour ago, same moment as the climber)  No one unraveling your work behind you?  (Constantly)

I recently painted a room, including the ceiling, with Tate.  If only there had been someone recording it; it was a frantic, comical, Mr. Bean type situation, with paint spilling on carpet, jumping over a bed covered in a paint-splattered drop cloth to get to the falling paint, falling and pulling the drop cloth off and more paint spilling.  But we painted that room, and then Rush joined us to paint the landing and part of the wall by our stairs.  And we painted all of it, carpet be damned.

This is the most productive I have ever been in my life.  No other option- sink or swim.

Peasant Dress

After a four month hiatus –it was cold?  dreary?  winter?-  I’m back to my sewing machine. 

Little peasant dresses come together so quickly.  This one could be hemmed as Holly grows and morph into a shirt to wear with jeans.  It’s white though, so instead it will be totally stained and be lucky if it makes it through the summer.

Next step, adapt the pattern into a woman’s shirt.

Wrapped Around Her Finger

Strawberry, as in Holly’s favorite must-have for sleep and comfort lovey, is missing.  We realized she was missing Monday at naptime and I’ve looked all over the place and can’t find her.  Due diligence, I even checked with the dry cleaner to see if somehow she ventured out Annie-style in a pile of clothes.  No luck.  Holly is handling it better than expected and has been able to sleep.

Trent, however, is taking it pretty hard.  He has looked in every inch of the house, car, and backyard, except for the inches where Strawberry is currently located.  I want to find Strawberry too, but I also want to have time in my day that is not spent looking for her or wondering aloud where she might be.  But that’s just kind of how Trent is with Holly.  “Daddy’s girl” comes to mind.

Trent pulled a few shirts out of his closet to get rid of and I intercepted a few of them for the possibilities.  Pastel blue and pink gingham seemed destined to become a dress for Holly.

 

I cut apart the shirts for the fabric and used a new pattern, Simplicity #1702.  Initially I thought it would be super quick to sew because it isn’t lined, but it has bias tape all around the neckline and sleeves.  My emotions towards sewing bias tape can best be described resigned apathy.  It took longer than anticipated, but I think it would be faster the next time I use the pattern.

I kept pulling out pieces of ribbon and trim, because it needed something.  Finally I realized that the perfect detail was to cut apart the strip of buttons left over from the center of one shirt and use it as trim across the waist.  It’s a little nod to her dad’s shirts.

The back is the reverse of the front, blue on bottom, pink on top.

If Holly could title the following picture, I’m guessing she would call it “The Story of My Life”.

The pattern also calls for a side zipper, which I had never attempted before.  It turned out fine, but I think in general I could use some assistance with zippers in clothing.  If it had called for a back zipper, I think I could have manipulated the shirts to use the existing buttons instead of the zipper.  Maybe next time, because it looks like Trent has a few more shirts he’s clearing out.

A Quest For Fun

It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows us that we have scratched our summer vacation plans and decided to go to Disney World.  We were planning a week in Destin, Florida via New Orleans, but as I crunched the numbers in my vacation spreadsheet, I realized that it would be less expensive to go to Disney World.  In fact, staying on the beach in Destin would wipe out our vacation budget in four days.  Now our plan is an epic road trip to New Orleans, Pensacola, and Walt Disney World.

People frequently ask for my advice on Disney trips, then completely ignore it.  But I’m going to offer it for anyone who might be considering a Disney vacation now or in the future, because it was shocking even to me that Disney was going to be less expensive than the beach.  My credentials include a summer as a Disney Cast Member in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom and the fact that in my 34 years on earth, I have never gone longer than 2 or 3 years in between Disney World trips.  I lost track of how many time I’ve been there before I started high school.  I trained in the Jim Rush school of vacationing:  If my family comes home from vacation well rested and refreshed, then I haven’t done my job.  If everyone is exhausted from a whirlwind of excitement and merriment, then we can count the trip a success.

There are two basic ways for a regular, non-millionaire to take a Disney World vacation:  The Once In a Lifetime Trip (even if it means 3 or 4 times over a lifetime) or the Every Summer If Possible Trip.  Most people, even if they have a budget in mind, ultimately want the VIP Once in a Lifetime Trip.  If you would like the all inclusive Disney experience, including shuttles so you don’t have to worry about driving and meal plans so you can eat in nice restaurants without seeing the bill, stay on property.  My advice is not going to be helpful, but you’ll be fine because Disney will take care of you.  If Disney seemed too expensive, it might not be, or if you would like to take a family to Disney World every two years, give or take, and not have to eat cereal for dinner the other 51 weeks of the year, here is my advice.  It’s the Clark Griswold trip, good old fashioned family fun.

Step One, Do the math.  Every year I work on an elaborate spreadsheet, comparing all our vacation options.  Compare driving vs flying/rental car or shuttle.  Factor in paying to park at Disney, but also consider that a shuttle limits your ability to eat outside the park and freedom of movement.  This is why Excel exists. 

Differentiate between fixed costs and variable costs.  Disney tickets are going to cost a fortune, and unless you happen to have a fabulous connection, there’s really no way around it.  I’m sure it’s possible to find discount tickets, but we buy them from Disney to know that they’re legitimate.  Variable costs include everything else.  Lodging, food, and souvenirs are all things that are easily adapted to fit the amount of money you want to spend on the trip. 

Don’t be afraid of a long road trip with kids.  It’s a glorious adventure. 

Be flexible with lodging.  When I was a kid, my parents would go temporarily insane around dusk after a day of driving, picking some dilapidated motel long past its heyday of 1964.  They would proclaim it quaint, then we would find a bed with bloody sheets or a wad of hair hanging from a lamp.  I used to lay in bed in the “quaint” motels where we stayed on vacation and promise myself that when I was an adult, I would only stay in nice hotels and never dumps like where I was sleeping.  It is the only thing I can remember from a happy childhood that had me making dramatic pledges to myself.  Forget the fact that my parents took us on vacation every single summer, including so many trips to Disney World that my brother would beg to go anywhere else.  I also wanted five star hotels.

Would I still like to stay in a five star resort?  Yes.  However, I did opt for being a stay-at-home mom instead of a heart surgeon and actions have consequences, one of which is not having unlimited cash flow.  Now I’m the one making the vacation budget with Trent looking over my shoulder at Trip Advisor and saying, “It doesn’t look very fancy.”  He’s been a princess about hotels ever since 2012 when I pulled into a motel in Slidell, Louisiana after dark and booked a room where we would literally shower, sleep, and stay less than twelve hours.  We pushed a chair in front of the door as an extra barrier of protection, just like we did when I was a kid, but at least it was clean.  Trent still brings up that motel like it was horrible.  The reality is that if you don’t actually fear for your life, it’s not that bad.

The good news is that there is so much competition among the zillion places to stay around Disney World, so you can pretty much name your price and you don’t have to stay at the Horne’s Mortor Lodge.  There are plenty of nice, clean places within a few miles of Disney World.  We stay off property, meaning not in a Disney resort but in a Holiday Inn,Comfort Suites or equivalent.  We usually stay on 192 in Kissimmee and can find decent hotels for $50/night.  We splurged this year on a suite with a kitchen, living area, and bedroom, and are still spending less than $100 a night.  I have done the math on staying on property vs staying off a million times.  Financially, you just can’t beat staying off property. 

No character meals, no sit down restaurants.  The cold, hard voice of reason:  You can see characters all over the parks for free.  Our dining experiences are strictly counter service affairs.  Taking hot, sweaty, tired kids into a restaurant and paying $30+ per person sounds horrible to me.  I mean, thousands and thousands of people do it, so maybe I’m missing out- but I really doubt it. 

That said, eat out when it matters to you.  Decide how much money you want to spend on food during the trip, and spend that much money.  Spend more on some meals, less on others.  Go to the grocery store and get breakfast stuff or find a hotel with a continental breakfast, bring sandwich stuff and snacks for the car.  You can bring food and drinks into the parks, but I don’t worry too much about that.  I’ll bring a few snacks, but I like to get ice cream in the morning, even if it costs $5 for an ice cream sandwich.  Trent enjoys a funnel cake from Liberty Square in the afternoon. For the love of God, pack a cooler for the car. 

Regarding drinks- Bring a water bottle into the park.  Refill it at water fountains.  Buy cokes and ice cream, but don’t spend money on something that’s free.  We share, so if we’re walking around Trent and I might get a coke to share and one for the kids to share, buying two instead of 4 or 5.  Then if we want to get another drink a few hours later, we do the same thing.  The vacation memory that sings for me isn’t getting cokes in the park, it’s being all hot and sweaty after a full day at the Magic Kingdom, standing in a hot parking lot and my dad opening the cooler in the back of the van and passing out ice cold cans of pineapple soda.

Be Lame During the Year.  I only buy those apple sauces in the squeeze packets if we are taking a road trip that is five hours or longer.  Because of this, the boys consider those the biggest treats and accept that they’re for vacation only.  Sharing a 20 oz Sprite is another rarity that makes vacation special.

Consider taking a day off.  We typically factor in one day, usually in the middle of the trip, to swim at the hotel pool, go out for Flipper’s Pizza, walk around the Disney Marketplace, and let everyone take a nap.  However, Disney ticket prices get cheaper per day with every additional day that you add so it might not make sense.  Use Excel.

Spend your money on what is going to make the trip special for you.  Last time we went, I wanted to buy the boys each a stuffed animal.  I do not want to buy a glow toy that costs $20 just because it’s twilight and Disney has pulled out the glow toy carts.  Before the trip, I buy glow sticks at the dollar store and bring them with us, then give them out when the glow toys start appearing in the park.  Today I found some of those gigantic swirly lollipops for $1 each.  When they kids ask for these on the trip, as they inevitably will, I can miraculously pull these out of my purse.  Buying three now instead of at Disney probably saved us $12, at least.  I try to recognize the distinction between things I can buy anywhere and things I can buy only at Disney World.  Mickey Mouse t-shirts can be purchased at Target before the trip and and worn into the park.  If I buy an overpriced t-shirt at Disney, it would be something I can’t get anywhere else, like a t-shirt with the monorail on it.

Above all, remember that spending more money does not mean better memories.  It’s going to be the little, unpredictable moments that stick with you and remind you of people you love and people who love you. 

Starts

Trent and I can pinpoint the exact moment when we gave up on any logic related to going to sleep.  Holly was approximately 24 hours old and instead of sleeping while our newborn baby slept, we were all snuggled in the hospital bed watching Catfish on MTV.  It was either 9 PM, midnight, or 2 in the morning.   

That’s been the trend.