Hardcore Sewing

I've never been one to do things halfway. When something piques my interest - a new hobby, a genre of literature, a nice bottle of cabernet - I'm not content to just kinda/sorta/maaaaybe try it out. I like to do things all the way. I have to master that hobby. I have to read a dozen books in that particular genre. I have to empty that bottle of wine. Come to think of it, the wine-downing often accompanies the mastering of the hobbies, and maybe that's why, in the process of mastering my latest hobby (sewing), I somehow managed to sew through my finger. Yes, through my finger. With my sewing machine.

It was late, and I was sipping my favorite red while working on a dress for my friend Jen's daughter when it happened. My first thought was, "Did I just sew through my finger?" My second thought was, "Why, yes, I think I did," which was quickly followed by my third throught: "Wow, I'm HARDCORE." A few seconds later, the adrenaline had worn off, and my finger started to hurt like a you-know-what, and at that point, my only thought was, "Holy Scheiße! HO. LY. SCHEIßE!" Only not in German.
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Thankfully, I didn't bleed on the dress I was sewing, and even if I did, I don't think it would have mattered, because the fabric was - get this - white with red spots. Ha! As you can probably gather, the dress pictured above is not the dress I was working on. It was a very similar dress to this one, which was a gift for my friend Hugo's daughter Dani. I'm only picturing Dani's dress as a point of reference for you, and also to act as a clumsy segueway to something completely unrelated.

How absolutely adorable is Benjamin in that dress? Now, before you starting thinking I'm some crazy woman who cross-dresses her son, let me just say that the only reason he's wearing that dress is because I wanted to - no - NEEDED to put it on him to check the fit. And fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), Benjamin really seemed to enjoy wearing the dress. In fact, he actually threw a screaming tantrum when I took it off of him to wrap up for Dani. I guess I'm going to have to make him a dress of his own, but he'd better learn how to sit in one if I do. I mean, look at how he's sitting in the last picture on the left - legs akimbo, skirt hiked up. No son of mine is going to sit like that in a dress!

The Terrible (-y Confused) Twos or The Many Faces of Boo 2

Benjamin has always been a happy, easy-going baby with a toothy grin and ready hug for everyone he meets. I'd heard of the "terrible twos," but I figured I had until his second birthday before I had to deal with them. Right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong.

The terrible twos don't start at age two. They start the second year of life when a toddler is on his way to turning two. For Benjamin, they started at about 14 months. At first, it was just a bit of surliness when he didn't get his way. He'd pout, posture, and whine, but that was about it. As soon as he started walking, though, the full-on foot stomping, toy-throwing, vein-bulging, back-arching, ear-piercing tantrums began. And they didn't always happen at home. He seemed to save the particularly gruesome ones for when we were out in public. It appears that Benjamin enjoys having an audience for his theatrics. I wonder where he got that from?

The cheerful, laughing baby is still there; he just takes turns showing himself with a tantrum-throwing toddler. It's almost like I'm a mother to two toddlers. Or maybe just one with multiple personalities.

Lileeloo Designs

My original reason for learning how to sew was to advance my Boo Beastie empire. In the process, I learned my way around a fabric store. I'd go in for just notions, but pass by bolts and bolts of fabric. They called out to me with their textures and colors, so I'd pause to finger a swatch of delicate silk or examine an interesting print. One day as I was draping a gorgeous green swath of of jersey knit Tencel over my arm, I thought to myself, "This would make a fabulous dress." And that's how my newest project was born.
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Photo credit: Brian Bobila

I suppose it was only a matter of time before I started making clothes. After all, I've always loved fashion. Some of my style choices have been less than successful. The time I paired a ruched ballroom skirt with a ratty green t-shirt jumps to mind. Then there are my go-to outfits that are in such heavy rotation I can no longer tell if they look good or bad. For example, my "uniform" of t-shirt, hat, and skinny jeans tucked into boots - what my hubby refers to as "that pirate outfit." Either way, fashion has always been my passion (ugh - did I really just say that?), and thus, no one was really surprised when I started Lileeloo Designs.

I decided to call my new line "Lileeloo" as an homage to my maiden name. My first piece, crafted from the aforementioned green Tencel, was a convertible dress and shirt that I christened the Trip Top. Soon, scarves, purses, wraps, and more shirts followed, all of them versatile pieces constructed from lightweight, stretchy fabrics in a mostly neutral palette. My aim is to fill a void in the current fashion market - and also to reduce our living room to a heap of half-finished patterns and stretchy, neutral fabric scraps on a daily basis. Perhaps my next project should be to design myself a sewing space.

Trainspottying or Isn't It Bromantic 3

Tiny veteran of pokes, prods, exams, and sticks, Benjamin has shown us that he one tough little dude. Even so, I think that this last weekend may have proved to be one of his worst ever. Our troubles began on Saturday morning when he awoke looking paler than usual. By mid-morning, he had a high fever, was breathing shallowly, and had become very sluggish. Over the next 36 hours, he had the pleasure of visiting his pediatrician's office and two different hospitals where he ran the medical gauntlet. He endured having his temperature taken twice (down there), went though multiple blood draws, he got antibiotic shots in both legs, and had a catheter inserted. If that wasn't enough, he went through two hours worth of failed attempts to insert an IV line. Ouch! The good news is that one nurse was finally able to get one started, and so began our weekend stay at the Resort de Mattel Children's Hospital.

It's never fun staying in the hospital, but we do try to see the bright side of things. For one thing, we're lucky that we have access to such amazing medical resources and such caring, wonderful medical staff. The kindness and caring of the doctors and nurses we meet never fails to touch us. For another thing, our hospital stays only last a few days at a time. We've met kids who have racked up a far greater number of medical frequent flyer miles than we have, and our hearts go out to them and their families. Those guys are the real troopers.

Ironically, as trying as this medical stuff is for us, it gives us a chance to learn more about ourselves, both individually and as a family. This particular hospital stay opened my eyes, and I discovered quite a bit.

DISCOVERY #1 - MOMMY HAS HER LIMITS.
I have a pretty high tolerance for the unpleasant stuff Benjamin has to go through. Yes, it hurts me to see him crying and in pain, but what can you do? One time, I actually found myself in the odd position of having to comfort a nurse who was was so upset by the amount of pain Benjamin was in that she was crying. This time, however, I realized that there is only so much I can take. While we were waiting in the ER, something in me just snapped, and I started crying. Usually, I would have choked back the tears, but this time, I just let them flow, along with with about a gallon of snot. Sorry... Too much information?

DISCOVERY #2 - DADDY IS A CHAMP.
After my meltdown in the ER, Vince took charge. He comforted Benjamin, and when he wasn't comforting Benjamin, he was comforting me. That first night, Vince was the one who stayed behind in the hospital so I could go home and get some rest. When I returned the next morning, he looked exhausted, but he still had his arms wrapped tenderly around the Boo and a smile still on his face. I asked him if he wanted to go home, but he continued to stick around for the rest of the day. I think that if he wasn't in such dire need of a shower, he would have stayed another night.

DISCOVERY #3 - BENJAMIN'S A BIG BOY NOW.
Whenever we stay in the hospital, our routines are put on hold. Benjamin's naps may not happen at the right times (if at all), we won't be able to go on long walks, and pottying goes on the back burner. Just as I expected, naps and walks went out the window this weekend, but Benjamin was the one who decided that he didn't want to give up the potty. Not to get into disgusting details, but he didn't go bong bong (Chinese for Numero Two) all day on Saturday. When I returned on Sunday morning, I thought that he would have gone for sure, but he hadn't. As soon as Benjamin saw me, he began making grunting noises along with what we call his "poo face." I put him on his travel potty, and to my surprise, he almost immediately went bong bong. He continued to go bong bong with alarming frequency throughout the rest of the day. I guess he'd been storing it up.

DISCOVERY #4 - YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG FOR A BROMANCE.
On Sunday morning on the way back to the hospital, I stopped by Shawn and Julie's to give them a copy of our house key. As soon as their front door opened, Nolan came barreling out. He gave me one of his big, toothy grins, but as soon as he saw that I had come alone, his grin vanished. He circled my car twice, looking for Benjamin, and when he didn't find him, he tried to open the doors. His little hands couldn't quite do it, so he grabbed one of mine and placed it on a door handle. He seemed very upset when I opened it, and there was no Benjamin sitting inside. Julie had to pick him up and explain to him that Benjamin wasn't coming. I knew that Benjamin and Nolan were buds, but this was the first time I realized that they actually could miss one another. I mean, this was behavior that I'd expect to see in their fathers after more than two consecutive evenings without Xbox Live.

Luckily, Nolan and Benjamin's baby bromance only had to wait until Monday. When they were reunited, they immediately broke into chubby smiles and began laughing and babbling excitedly. Who knows what they were saying to one another? Hopefully it didn't have anything to do with meat shields.