Day 39 of Forty: Don't Spoil it!

Yesterday, the youngest brought home an Easter basket that he made in his first grade class. He's been pretty glad that HE didn't give up candy for Lent. I know this because there are chocolate foil wrappers and empty plastic eggs all over the house and I know that at least 40% of those are not from ME. He also has a mustache the color of green apple Jolly Ranchers. Hey. It IS Spring Break, AND he gave up french fries this year...

The little man asked his dad who he thought filled the baskets in his classroom. The man just shrugged and smiled at me. I smiled big right back, because scenes like this ALWAYS remind me of one of my favorite Kindergarten stories...

There was a little boy named Billy (not his real name,) who came to school crying his eyes out one cold, December morning. When I asked him what was wrong, he said, "Dean (not his real name) told me that Santa Claus is not real! He told me that I'm a baby for not knowing that my parents are the ones who bring presents! He told Sarah and Joe from the other class too....Ahhhhhhhhhhh (more tears) Is it true, Mrs. M.?  Is Santa not for real?"

"Oh honey" I said, totally unprepared, "what do you think?"

"Well I sat on his lap on Saturday! He knows what I want for Christmas! We're making cookies for Rudolph! I think he's real, but Dean says..." said the boy whose chest was still rising and falling with sobs.

"Billy, you can't listen to everything Dean says...and I'm so sorry he made you cry. I will talk with your mom about this later today, okay?" I said, absolutely relieved to hear the morning bell ringing.

After the children had said the pledge and began their morning lessons, I called lovely "Dean" into the hallway. He knew what I was calling him out for because he spoke before I was able to.

He said loudly, "Billy is such a baby! It's not my fault he doesn't know there is no such thing as Santa! My mom told me that when I was like, THREE! Duh!"

All I could think of was the rest of the children I would have to be consoling for the rest of the day over this. I paused for a moment, then leaned down very close to Dean's face. These are the words I chose, and I spoke them slowly, so Dean would understand..

"Dean. I understand that you are very grown up. I get that you don't believe in things like Santa or the Easter Bunny anymore. I respect that your mom has told you the truth about these things, but really. Other parents may not have told their children this yet. You may NOT go around ruining this for other children. The others will all learn in their own time.  For now, PLEASE don't say anything more to the children, okay?"

Dean looked back at me with tears in his eyes. This was a rare sight. I couldn't believe that I'd gotten through to him. Usually he was the one who would shrug his shoulders or nod carelessly. His mouth had begun to quiver and my heart started to ache for this little boy. I hoped I wasn't too stern; that wasn't my intention at all.

"Are you okay?" I asked, holding both of his hands.

"NO!" he yelled. He was in full-force crying mode now.

"Dean, what's the matter?" I said, squeeze-hugging him and checking out the children who were starting to stare at us through the open classroom door.

Dean pulled away from me. He looked me in my eyes, then ran to the teacher from the next room who had come to see what all the fuss was about. During the run, Dean screamed in a piercing voice for all the school to hear,

"Mrs. M. said there's no such thing as the Easter Bunny! She said he wasn't real!!!".

Holy marshmallow peeps, people. It takes skills to kill kid's dreams.

Happy, "believe-whatever-you-want-to" Saturday, friends.

Day 38 of Forty: Filtered

Hello friends! It's finally Friday! Woo Hoo! I taught all day, spilled coffee in the car and then came home and burned two pizzas. Rock on though, because tonight kicks off Spring Break vacation for our family! 9 glorious days. We're not going anywhere special this year, but all of us are unbelievably glad to have a valid "break".

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 Before I get ready to have a real sleep-in Saturday, I want to share with you a fun project I did with the kids after school today. It was supposed to be with the youngest, but my other children decided to take pity on their mama, make my day and join in. Not many of those days left, I know... so I'm counting this as a perfect Friday.

If you want to make a simple Spring Project with your kids, give this one a try.

You'll need:

Crayola Markers (fat ones work best)

Newspaper

Coffee Filters

Spray Bottle

Various decorations: google eyes, pipe cleaners, pompoms (I bought this bag at Walmart in the craft aisle)

glue, scissors, tape

 1. Lay out coffee filters flat on a newspaper or construction paper. You need to protect your counter tops! Use the flat side of the different colored markers (at an angle) and completely cover the filter paper. There is no pattern needed..just have fun and know that little fingers are going to get a bit stained :)

 2. When filter(s) are completely covered and you have made as many as you want, set them and the newspapers on the floor.

 3. Use the spray bottle (on mist) to completely saturate the filter. You will know that you have done this because the words from the paper will show through. It's okay if the markers start to bleed off the edges. The point of this is to blend the colors.

 Here is an example of how beautiful the result can be if you use white construction paper instead of newspaper. We do this and then use that paper for stationary.

 4. Let the filters dry on their own or use a hair dryer...When dry, collect for your project!

 5.  Use the decorations with the colored filters to create things that remind you of Spring.

My kids are pretty creative on their own, but they ALWAYS rise to the challenge. Like I've said before, the older two enjoy the one-upmanship of each other. They veered away from the SPRING theme a bit, but the results were still pretty hilarious...and impressive ;)

This is what they came up with...

A Spring flower...

A snake, A clam and a jellyfish...

A bumblebee on a flower...

A parachute...

a peacock (back) and a caterpillar (front)...

a horsefly...

 and a dragonfly!

Happy Spring Break Friday, friends :)

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Day 37 of Forty: Ruffles

Hello friends!

No, this post is not about potato chips. (I wish!)

I ordered this amazing fabric a while back. It's called "ruffle fabric". You can order it online from, where else? Rufflefabric.com  After looking at the tags, I see that it is located in Utah. (Who knew?) Anyway, I believe it runs around 15-17 dollars a yard, but if you love ruffles, it is COMPLETELY worth every penny. I would never in a million years be able to create anything like it. I ordered a yard of pink, hot pink and eggplant.

 When the eggplant came, I knew that it was going to be the color of our "theatre-like" room. Remember that man cave? Remember how I needed to hang some pictures or make some pillows for that dark room? There is where the ruffle fabric comes in.

It looks like this:

Beautiful, no?

I had some of this crispy, inexpensive cotton from IKEA ($4 a yard). I figured I could use it for the backs of the pillows :

I had hideous well-worn blue pillows I used as pillow forms.

And then I made these:



So much better, don't you think? With pillows selling for ridiculous amounts of money these days, I figure I saved at least half, and they match the room perfectly. Plus, they are removable and washable. For a room where teenagers hang out, that is a must.

Would you like to try to make some? Here is what you'll need: (for 2)

* 2 old pillows/pillow forms. Mine are 17" square
* 1 yard ruffle fabric cut in 2 squares; cut 2" longer on all sides than your pillow. My pillows were 17", so the squares were 19".
* 2 pieces of quilter's weight interfacing You can use fusible, but I just sewed mine on. 19" square (you can also use flannel for this part. Diaper flannel works really well.
*1 1/2yrd of 60" width cotton for the backs. I used 4 pieces of the IKEA fabric cut 24" X 19"each
*thread, ruler, sewing machine, scissors

Tutorial Codes:
RST= right sides of fabric together (touching)
RSU- Right side of fabric facing up
WST- Wrong sides of Fabric touching
RSO- Right Side Out

1. Lay pillow form on ruffle fabric, or Measure two inches extra around the pillow and cut. If you are making more than one pillow, you can fold ruffle fabric in half, so you'll only have to cut once. The fabric is stretchy, so don't worry if it bounces back or looks askew..

2. Because the fabric is stretchy, you'll want to sew a sturdier fabric on the back. You don't have to do this step, but it makes everything easier to work with later on. . Lay your ruffle fabric on the interfacing/flannel, pin and cut out. Again, it doesn't have to be perfectly matched. I doubled the interfacing so I could cut two at once. (two pillows, remember?)

3. Lay out your interfacing. Place ruffle fabric on top of it. The ruffles are RSU. Pin the fabrics together. You can't have too many pins. Your goal is to keep the ruffles all facing the same way. Baste ALL around the square. You can use your sewing machine on the longest stitch, or do it by hand. I basted mine at 1/4 inch all the way around. This way, I don't have to remove it later. Work slowly. This is where you'll be glad you pinned.

You can square up the fabric if you'd like. This is the front of your pillow.

4. Take your backing fabric and iron it. Fold each piece in half WST and press again. My pieces were 24'X19"; folded they were 12X19". On the folded edge, stitch across each piece (1/4"). This gives a nice, finished look to the back of your pillows. The picture below shows my four pieces, laying on top of one another (you'll need 2 for each back)

5. Okay. Remember, I am spatially challenged. Bear with me on the next directions. If you have any questions, leave me a comment... Lay your ruffle fabric RSU. Take one of your back pieces and lie it on top of the ruffles, matching up the corners on one side. Your finished edge that you previously sewed will be facing the center. In my picture below, the finished edge is where the fabric says, "seventeen eight" All of your other edges are raw.

6. Take your other backing piece and match raw corners again on opposite side. Your finished edge will OVERLAP the first backing piece. That is what you want! Again, all other edges are raw.

7. Pin that baby ALL THE WAY AROUND. Before you sew, make sure that your interfacing is on the bottom, your ruffle fabric is facing up and your backing pieces are on top of the ruffles, finished sides in the middle, and are over lapping.

8. Take that sandwich and sew around ALL sides (1/2 inch seam allowance)

9. Remove pins, cut off corners close to, but not through the stitches. This will help your corners be crisp. If you'd like, you can also trim any obvious excess around the pillow. Do NOT cut through any stitching.

10. Flip that pillow RSO. Poke the corners out with your fingertips. The back will look like an envelope opening (one side overlapping). Stuff your pillow form inside..

12. Cover completely, pull at the corners and fluff. You should be finished. Yay!

Here is the label for the ruffle company and a picture of another project I made using the pink ruffle fabric.

Have a wonderful Thursday, friends :)