Alice had a problem, and not just any problem that might have been solved with a little bit of hard work and a can-do attitude. The problem went back to one small simple problem that had quickly gotten out of hand. First her mother had started to cough, then sneeze, then hack and then it seemed like the very next moment Alice’s mother had fallen head first into the hydrangeas. Dead.

This left Alice with a problem, but not an insurmountable one. Certainly it could now be said that Alice was a penniless orphan whom no one in the whole world cared about, but Alice wasn’t one to let the little things interfere with her sunny disposition.

           

This is the part where the problem decided to grow. It grew right into a fairy godmother. Right there in the flower garden next to Alice’s dead mother. The fairy wasn’t very big certainly not bigger than two feet. The fairy was purple and ugly and Alice just didn’t know what to think.

          

To call it pretty would have been a lie, and Alice did not lie. The fairy was sneering up at Alice as she sat back and stared at the fairy in a rather befuddled manner. The fairy looked at Alice and didn’t like what she saw. “Here comes another little brat who is going to ask for the wrong thing and blame me when it blows up.” Thought the fairy to herself. No the fairy did not like Alice one little bit but the fairy had a job to do, and do it she would.

“Hello, I am your fairy godmother,” the fairy said to Alice in a surprisingly sweet toned voice. Alice smiled brilliantly and the fairy ground her pointy teeth at the pretty little orphan.

“Oh how wonderful, I didn’t know I was eligible for a fairy godmother.”

“Well you’ve only now become an orphan, you weren’t even in the system before,” the fairy said begrudgingly, really if there was one thing she couldn’t stand it was grubby little orphans who beamed at the side of dead relatives. The fairy noticed now that the little orphan was even a blond with perfect creamy skin. “All right what do you want?”

“I get three wishes right?” Alice asked with a pointed look at her newly deceased mother while an idea processed.

“I’m not a genie,” the fairy grumbled, “and before you ask, no I can’t bring your mum back to life. She’s very happy where she’s at. You and I are going to leave her alone.” At this the fairy realized that she might have sounded a little rude. Fairy godmothers were not allowed to be rude. The fairy closed her eyes and summoned up the memories of her training from long years past. She had the feeling she was going to need it. Now with a smile on her face, and it didn’t matter that it was forced only that it was there the fairy spoke to Alice. “I am here to make your happily ever after come true. Think hard and tell me what you need to make your happily ever after come true.”

Alice did think but not for very long and certainly not very hard. “Well, I’m a maiden. And what every maiden needs is a handsome prince.” The fairy blinked but managed to keep the sigh of disgust from exiting her mouth, it was going to give her heartburn later though. Instead she raised her stumpy wand and waved it at the garden gate. A handsome prince appeared.

“Excuse me, but I seem to have lost my way.” The fairy grumbled at this obvious pickup line but the prince wasn’t listening and neither was Alice.

“My name is Alice, and if you would like to rest a bit I could have you come and sit in my cool kitchen while I tell you the way to the village.” The prince wasn’t really listening though except to make certain the little maiden wasn’t a hag in disguise. Learning that she wasn’t, really it was quite clear that she wasn’t, he promptly swept her up onto his white charger and whisked her away to his castle.

The fairy went home. She did not try to stop Alice, that wasn’t in her job description although she did feel a small bit of remorse at leaving Alice to the cheating old prince. But Alice had asked for a handsome prince and that is exactly what the fairy had given to Alice. Just as she was settling down with a nice cup of tea and her favorite crossword puzzle though she felt her wand start to buzz. One of her cases was crying and it wouldn’t have taken a fairy Sherlock Holmes to deduce which one it might be. The fairy went off to the castle and Alice with a flick of her wand.

“Well what happened?” The fairy asked Alice bluntly who was sitting in a corner of the kitchens crying to herself.

“He’s horrible!” She gasped and sobbed out her little broken story, “he is mean and he pinches and he has a horrible little wife!” The fairy nodded in as much sympathy as she could muster.

“So you’ve decided you don’t need a prince for your happily ever after? What is it that you want then?” The fairy might have been a little blunt again, but in her defense she was thinking of the particularly difficult cross-word puzzle waiting at home.

“Aren’t you just supposed to give me my happily ever after?” Asked Alice and the fairy noticed that she didn’t look quite as pretty as she had earlier in the day. The fairy shook her head sadly and with a flick of her wand removed them back to Alice’s cottage.

“I can’t give you what you need for your happily ever after because I don’t know what it is that you need to make you happy.” The fairy explained, she didn’t know how many times she had explained just this fact in just this sort of run down hovel but she knew she was getting tired of it. “You need to sit and think hard about what it is that makes you happy, and if it is something I can help you with. When you’re ready let me know.” The fairy handed Alice one of her business cards. “The instructions are on the back.” And the fairy went home, again.

The fairy did not hear from Alice for days, and then months. But on the one year anniversary of Alice’s becoming one of her cases the fairy decided to check up on her. Alice was gardening in the hydrangeas. She looked a little fat to the fairy but the fairy shrugged it off and tapped her on the shoulder.

“It’s been a year and you never called for me, haven’t even cried. Did you ever decide what you need from me?”

“I don’t need anything from you. I’m making my own happily ever after.” She paused for a moment with her hand on her bulging stomach and looked wistfully at the house where a slender young man was making a cradle. “We’re making our own happily ever after.” Alice amended.

The fairy looked from the happy Alice to the happy young man. She nodded once and went home again. Alice wouldn’t need her and hopefully her child would never become a client. For the first time in many years the fairy was able to write a happily ever after success report. The silly humans never seemed to understand but the fairy was glad that Alice had figured it out. There were no happily ever after, only happily ever beginnings.

My new fashion statement

This is my new fashion statement. Apparently some bug that bit me in the past 46 hours or so is one I am slightly allergic to. I have broken out in hives. Me. Ugh. I have slathered on calamine lotion, the good stuff with extra anti-itch technology whatever that is and crafted a bandage.

My awesome bandage is actually a sock (don't tell my hubby cus I totally stole it from him) that I cut and then placed a strategic opening in to reduce the tight fit. I'm kind of in love with the elbow opening and would be even happier if my skin wasn't burning with itchiness. Oi.

Through a Child's Eyes

            I believe in my son. I believe in the lessons he teaches me every day. I believe that he has made me a better person. Every time I look into his smart little eyes I know that I am a better person because of him and that I will strive every day to become better for him and myself. I see him awake each morning eager to explore new things and sometimes even old things and I strive to catch his enthusiasm for the day. I see his willingness to learn new things and I am inspired to learn something new each and every day of my wonderful life with him

             

Before I had a child, I was a selfish and lazy person. I was not a morning person and rarely saw the sun at all in the winter because I would sleep all day. I have suffered for several years with a low balance of iron in my blood which makes it difficult to receive rest when I am sleeping. Because of this medical concern I can sleep for up to eighteen hours at a stretch and still feel tired. No matter how much or how little I sleep I am always tired.

             

 My father may have taught me the value of a clean home and hard work but I was unwilling to follow through on the lessons I knew to be true. Dishes would often pile up in the sink for weeks sometimes months before I got tired of eating on napkins before I would clean anything at all. My house was full of germs and mold and dust. It was an unhealthy place to live but since I was so lazy I didn’t care.

            

 In September of 2009 I became pregnant. Although the pregnancy was not planned and made life difficult for my husband and I, it was a happy time. I remember the very first time I felt my son move within me; it was late in December and I was lying in bed watching the Christmas lights sparkle on our tree. While I looked at the magical twinkling lights I felt something like a butterfly brushing around inside my stomach. Holding a hand to the feeling of movement I realized for the first time that I was responsible for creating a new human life and I was changed.

            

 Now I get up every morning at 7:30 because my son is awake. He expects to be fed in a timely manner and then I have the great opportunity to play with him for the whole morning. I used to not understand the meaning of the word morning, I had nothing to get up for. Now the word morning is sacred to me. Bob the Builder sings annoyingly in the background, mostly ignored by my son and I while my son teaches me about the world around us. Everything is interesting to him because it is all still so new. Everything must be explored and understood. I especially enjoy his speeches that he proclaims in loud baby talk from the middle of the living room. While I can’t understand what he is saying, the speeches are always powerful and given with a great deal of hand waving for added emphasis.

            

 He is always eager to see new things and meet new people. His curiosity gets him into everything, usually trouble no matter where he is. While this can cause problems it can also cause great learning opportunities for both of us. Yesterday on our bike ride my son became entranced with the spinning wheels of the bicycle. I stopped at the park and removed him from his little seat on the back of my bike to let him wander around the bike on his own. I lifted up the back of the bike so that he could spin the tire around. I spoke to him about centrifugal forces and how the invention of the wheel was perhaps the first great invention although its origins are greatly argued.

           

My son will turn one year old in fifteen days. I never know how much he listens to me but I enjoy talking to him and starting the habit of intelligent conversation with him early on. This past year has been full of many ups and downs. Like when my son was teething early in January with four teeth at once, he taught me patience and the true power of Tylenol. Or the moment when he learned to walk in March and the unbelievable surge of pride I was able to feel for someone else’s accomplishment.

             

The lessons my son has taught me are many but the very first lesson he taught me was compassion and understanding. Before I gave birth I knew that the only way to feed a baby was with breast milk, that women who chose not to breast feed were not good mothers or simply not trying hard enough. My son chose not to breast feed. While I was able to pump for a while I realized that feeding him and making sure he grew was the most important part of being a mother in those first few months, no matter what I was feeding him. My son taught me to be more understanding of others in the very first weeks of his life and I am very grateful to him.

I believe in learning something new each day because of my son. He has energy that far outlasts my own reserves and is always happy to meet new people. I am able to look at the world with eagerness and a sense of vigor that had been lacking before my son was born. While I still struggle with a low balance of iron in my blood I have been motivated enough to seek medical help. I am able to take an iron supplement and have a much better diet now.

I had to see my house through my son’s eyes before I became the great housekeeper that I am now. My house is almost always clean and if it is not spotless then there are never dishes in my sink and my house is as free of germs mold and dust as I can make it. My son deserves to live in a healthy environment and I enjoy working hard to provide him with what he does deserve.

Every smile and frown, every giggle and yell brings me purpose and happiness that I had not known could exist before my son existed. Being able to see the world through a child’s eyes has renewed my faith and hope in the world and in myself. I believe in my son.

T-shirt Sling

I made this great sling today and thought I would post a photo tutorial to help people see just what the heck I'm talking about!

For this project you will need;
one old t-shirt that is slightly baggy on you
scissors
sewing machine or hand sewing materials
baby (for measuring later on)

Here is your first step:

1. Spread out your t-shirt

2. Cut off the sleeves

3. Cut off the neckline so that it is a straight line, (more or less)

4. Turn the shirt inside out and sew along the top with a straight stitch.

5. Pick out the side seams at this point.

6. With right sides together sew a seam along the bottom edge.

7. This is the point to check the fit. With the help of a friend, put your sling on carrying from your shoulder to opposite hip. Slip your child in, keeping a firm grip and see if you need more fabric or less. If you don't feel comfortable with how loose the sling feels, sew either the top or bottom seam up a few inches. If it is too tight, pick out the bottom seam and sew in a panel of contrasting fabric.

Here I took the seam up by two inches.

8. To finish sew a double flat seam around both openings. (if you're feeling lazy, like me, you can skip this step too, the knit in your t-shirt will hold, it will just be a little curly)

9. Optional- Cut up one of the old sleeves to use as a pocket. Sew this across your bottom seam and add a key ring if desired.