da brudders
In their matching Supa Man shirts! God. So cute. I’m sorry.
People ask me all the time how Owen likes his new little brother. They ask him all the time, too, actually. And the answer is, he likes him just fine. Was pissed at me for about two and a half months, but likes his brother just fine. Gets all up in his face with kisses, keeps his chin free of drool, pushes him in his baby swing and informs me of his slightest peep.
In fact, “Mac’s wakin’ up!” is one of the top five most-heard phrases out of Owen’s mouth, right next to “I’ma roar you!” and “Please can I have some Nemo fruit snacks.”
I’m glad he likes his little brudder. And I keep watching Cormac intently to see how he reacts to this little person who takes care of him, as opposed to us, the two big lumbering people who trade him off like tag team wrestlers. He watches Owen as intently as I watch him. I’m waiting for that bond to form, the one I know is inevitable, when instead of all for one and one for all it becomes Us against Them, the brothers against their clueless parents. Call me crazy (and you should) but I’m looking forward to it, just a tiny bit.
Sewing: old sheets + dye = new apron
(Yes, more sewing. Suck it, haterz)
So! I have been thinking about these sheets, which have been sitting in our linen closet for five years. We’ve used them a few times, but they are hand-me-downs from a friend with a girl. We have no girl children and our bedroom’s color scheme is not pink. Therefore they are pretty much extraneous.
So I have been thinking and thinking of how to reuse such a great amount of yardage and !bing! realized that they don’t have to be pink! I bought two boxes of RIT dye in Scarlet during our grocery shop a few weeks ago and last weekend finally got the chance to dye the sheets and two pillowcases. I sprinkled in a little Yellow and some Tan, aiming for a toned-down tomato/paprika color, which I thought would go well in our slaty-blue living room or bedroom.
Alas, red + yellow + tan on top of pink equals merely a darker pink.
Still. The solid color sheet didn’t take the color too well but the flannel took it excellently, resulting in a decidedly girly yet pleasingly saturated salmon. I washed it and dried it and took it straight upstairs to the sewing room and cut another Lotta Jansdotter apron out of them. The apron was designed to be reversible, so now I could make an embellished, reversable version, and if I bonked it up I would be out exactly zero dollars. Schwing! Plus our linen closet has a few inches of extra room and I have an extra apron for when the first is in the wash. You just can’t lose.
Anyhoodle, here it is.
I also found a book called Romantic Home Sewing at the library today which has an apron pattern in it. It’s quite similar to the one I made for Owen, though the proportions are a little different and it calls for cotton tape for straps instead of self straps. I think I may try that one next. I still have a sheet and a half left.
We have sleep. I repeat, we have sleep.
Cormac slept through the night last night. One day shy of his 12-week birthday and he slept all the way from 10 until 7.
At least, I’m pretty sure he did. I know I slept from midnight until seven and didn’t hear a peep. Of course, I was probably comatose from the sleep deficit I have accumulated over the last year (9 months pregnant and three months with a newborn and not a single full night’s sleep in there). But I’m pretty sure he slept all the way through.
Every night when I finally go to bed (sometimes easily, but more typically after a few three hours of tossing and turning) the way I keep myself from crying is to think, Maybe tonight is the night he skips that last feeding. Maybe going to sleep five minutes before he’s likely to get up isn’t as futile as I think it is.
Finally, I was right.
Not only that, but I think through some freaky freak of nature Owen slept in until 9 a.m. That’s a full two hours later than I ask of him and like, three hours later than he was getting up just two weeks ago. Either he really slept until 9 and woke me immediately upon waking, or he woke up at his regular time and played quietly by himself for two hours and then woke me. That thought is a little alarming, but I’ve surveyed the household damage and it’s minimal.
So. Unless I’m dreaming right this second, things are looking up. I’m not sure how one baby can go from three wake-ups in a night to zero, but I won’t question it. There’s no guarantee that this perfect confluence of events will ever, ever repeat themselves, so I’m just going to bask in the warm, more-rested-than-usual aura of it while it lasts.
Mick Mac
A little Cormac to go with your tea and crumpets.
wearing it, finally
He finally deigned to let me put this apron on him.
Nothing wrong with showing a little Cleaver
Over the last three days:
- Embroidered an apron
- Baked cookies from Better Homes and Gardens
- wore heels
- cooked dinner (I never cook dinner!)
- Considered making my husband a drink with which to greet him at the door.
When is this SAHMy novelty going to wear off?
Relatedly: I love my new work schedule, working nights on Monday and Tuesday. I think this is actually going to work out rather well.
This tunnel isn’t as dark as it used to be
I think … I think I see a light! At the end of it!
Mac is 11 weeks old as of Friday. Brotherman is finally sleeping 4, 5, and 6 hours at a time. Never when I actually want him to, but hey, one milestone at a time. He squeals and coos and is a great lot of fun when he’s in a good mood. But like the little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead: He can be one bad mothafucka when he’s horrid. Oooh, boy, the child runs hot or cold. Never lukewarm. But regardless of which flavor of Mac you get, he’s unremittingly cute.
And Owen, I finally got my sweet Pop-Tart-eating Owen back. He told me today that I looked a beautiful queen. He likes to remind me at regular intervals what a good, hardworking boy he is (and he is!). And today he peed on the potty of his own volition. Sure, most of it did end up on those Shrek underpants, but I know what I saw and I saw measurable tinkle in that little chair. Score one for the Tot.
So. I’ve been thinking of you ladies with Numero Dos on the way, and I just want you to know it’s not as scary as … well, as it was. Life will be topsy turvy again, but it’s not all hell and highwaters. And presumably my ability to keep my metaphors matched and unmixed will return, too — that should give you hope, should it not?
Sewing: How to make a kid-sized chef apron
update 8/28: Owen actually wore the apron to make cookies today. I’d definitely suggest two changes: making an extra strap so there are two at the neck for tying, not one looped one, and adding another couple inches width to the bottom part of the apron. It should go farther around to protect the sides of the kids’ pants.
Here’s an idea: a chef’s apron for your toddler. Lord knows he won’t wear a bib anymore, am I right? Here’s a quick way to make one. It takes two pieces of about 12”x20” fabric, plus two pieces that are 7.5”x20”. So, let’s see, you can make it out of about a little more than a yard of 44”-wide fabric. I think.
Math is not my strong suit.
Here is the cutting layout, although it doesn’t include the second apron piece laid out. These measurements are for an apron that fit my Owen, who wears a 2T. The same concept embiggened would fit an older child, or even yourself. Just measure yourself where an apron would be, and remember to halve the measurements for cutting on the fold, and to add enough for a 1/2” seam allowance.
Once your pieces are cut, assemble the apron strings. I usually assemble strings and straps thiswise: fold them in half lengthwise and press, then unfold. Fold from the edge to the center fold line lengthwise for top and bottom. Press. Then fold in half, enclosing the raw edges, and sew along the open side. Turn one short edge under twice and stitch it down.
With the right side of one of the unfolded apron pieces facing up, lay the apron strings in the appropriate places, raw edges matching and strings toward the center. Pin them in place as shown below. Lay the other apron piece on top, right sides facing. Starting about 3” from the center bottom, stitch all the way around the edge, using a 1/2” seam, and going over the straps. Stop a few inches from where you started to leave room to turn (be sure to backstitch).
Be sure to clip the seam allowance nearly to the stitching line on the curves, to make them lie flat, and trim corners at a 45-degree angle to eliminate bulk.
Turn it inside out. Press.
Suckers will hand-slipstitch the opening closed; lazy people like me will edgestitch the whole thing. Then voila! Apron!
Hopefully that made sense. I’m actually quite crap at explaining how I do things. And my skills in Illustrator are shite.
But there you go! And it doesn’t matter if it’s wonky or made from a weird fabric or if it looks like crap because your kid is just going to wipe his slimy paws all over it anyway. Just be sure you make it sturdy enough to throw in the wash and you are g-o-l-d-e-n.
An illustration that includes layout instructions is here.* Good luck!
*and if you can’t read that tiny print, it goes something like this:
Instructions: 1.) For apron: On fold, measure out 4”. This is A.
Measure 20” down, along fold line. From there, measure out 6” from fold. This is C.
Measure back up about 15” (more or less to taste). This is B. Sketch curve from top of B to right end of A.
Cut out this piece and use it as a pattern for cutting the second apron front piece on the fold.
2.) Strings: Mark apron string measurements along the grain line. Each piece is 2.5”x20”. Cut 3 strips, through 2 layers; there should be 6 total.
Credit goes to Sew What Skirts for the ABC approach and Simple Sewing for the basic construction method. Yay!
Run! Run for your lives!
Sewing: Wrap skirt, thrifted sheet
The wrap skirt pattern is from the book ‘Sew What! Skirts.’ Holy crap, what a great book. It’s not really a pattern at all; you take your measurements at the waist and hip and use a little math and a ruler to make your own custom-fit pattern. It’s pretty cool.
The fabric is a to-die-for vintage sheet from JC Penney, bought at goodwill with a 20% off coupon. I think it was a whopping $1.60, something like that. I’m thinking … what, late sixties? Maybe up to mid-seventies? I don’t care how old it is, i just know that I love it.
Anyway, turns out wrap skirts are just the greatest invention ever. Almost infinitely adjustable and far too comfortable.
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