Katybug

So... today was my only neice's first birthday party and I managed to miss it.  I mean, this crap can only happen to me.  Seriously.  The party was at 4pm.  Easy enough to make, right?  I wake up at 7am in a panic.  I haven't finished a present yet.  I don't BUY presents, I make presents.  I don't like giving something to my Kate and Will that they can get from someone else.  Not cool.  Here's what I did for Christmas (of course on the 24th... )  I made Kate a cute decoupaged container full of handmade nonslip hair bows.  Here she is wearing them all at once...

And here's Will's present.  He is in a HUGE Star Wars stage of his life.  I made him a stool... we called it a "Thinking Stool", and told him that whenever he needed to think about something, to sit on it and he would become wise like YODA! 

I was supposed to be working on a rocking chair that my sister-in-law had as a young child, redoing it for Kate.  I was going to rework it based on the letters and artwork I did for Kate's nursery.  Here's a shot of her letters, I'll post better ones later when I get them from Gret.

<----original picture (katybug in crib)

Ok, so anyhow... Gret's computerwas down and she ccould't get me a closeup of the letters or artwork for me to finish the rocking chair.  I ccouldn't see enough in the original picture to get the patterns in the crib either.  So I wake up in a cold sweat this morning and haul ass to Joann Fabrics and Old Navy at 8am to buy supplies to make a handmade tutu and decorate a onesie for my Katybug.  I think it'll be adorable, and besides, how long can it take to put some tulle on a piece of elastic, right?  I scanned the internet, they said maybe 2 yards of tulle for a baby tutu.  Sure, no problem.  I bought about 100 yards because I thought I would make a few for Lexi later.  Thank god for that. 

First of all... this is no easy feat in the dry air.  Figure out how to cut a million strips of tulle when they're on a spool and each strip sticks to your furry sweater.  Doesn't help that my cotton candy pink sweater is the same color as the tulle.  I also decided to cut the ends of the FOLDED tulle in a decorative manner.  Lord help us.  Now I have a zillion triangles of tulle stuck to my jeans, my socks, the carpet, and the cats.  Shit...

Now how to figure out how to attach these bastards to the elastic... oh crap!  Why didn't I do this sooner??? And how big is a one-year old's waist anyhow?  Oh jeez... where is the valium when you need it?  Lexi is trying to help, and suddenly I have a fruit snack stuck in a pile of tulle.  Remove gummy snack and throw away four strips.  Wipe brow, remove toddler, put on Veggie Tales movie, sing along with Larry the Cucumber, lather, rinse, repeat.

I see I have one hour to finish the project, take a shower, wake Lexi from a nap, and pack the car.  I can do it.  I shorten the waist, finish up, take a shower, rip the tag off the new jeans I bought from Old Navy so I wouldn't have to do laundry before the party, and wake Lexi up with ten minutes to spare.  I rock!!!

Just then I hear Matthew yelling, "SCOOBY!!! NOOOOOO!!!"  I run into the living room just in time to see the dog upchucking some unknown substance all over the living room floor, but not in time to stop Lexi from running right into the first pile... in her party clothes.  She slides from one pile into the next on one foot... sigh. 

Throw toddler into bath, find other party clothes, clean up dog vomit, laugh at preteen gagging on couch.  We're now 45 minutes late.  Run like hell into car, get on tollway, realize we don't have the address, GPS, or directions.  Can't get a hold of anyone, turn back around, go home to podunk, print off address/directions, get back in car and head off again.  Look at clock, realize we won't make it to party until 30 minutes before end of the party.  Pfffft.  I quit.  I drop Katybug's gift off at my parent's house and head home to wash the rugs and make soup.