Learning Gratitude

As I flew the short distance from my falling bicycle to the mud splattered paved trail below me, there was just enough time for three thoughts to race through my head.

1. No!! how can this be happening!
2. 'Lil! she should be safe in the trailer
3. Noise! make some noise so Hubby will hopefully hear and come back to help

Isn't that an interesting order? First, denial that I was in the predicament in the first place. Then worry for my child, and finally a bit of worry for myself.

The mud came out of no where - And on such a steep incline, there was little chance of me getting stopped safely, even if I hadn't had 50 + pounds of trailer and child pushing me faster. But, 'Lil - who, with a 7 month speech delay instead of the needed 9 month one and therefore won't receive speech services  (grumble grumble!)- was  perfectly safe inside that trailer.

After much thought, I'm grateful for many things that have occurred about the entire incident.
I'm grateful

• That the same rains which made the mud, made the slides at the park very wet. So wet that I had packed a towel to dry them off with. That exceptionally wet towel was wonderful to clean my hands off so I could at least grip my handle bars without slipping.
• That, out of the 3 days in a week I take this bike ride,this was the one where Hubby came too.
• That my grunts were loud enough to alert Hubby to my predicament.
• That, at the time, the worst of my injuries was having the wind knocked out of me.
• That the whole thing occurred only 1 mile away from my house so I could quickly get home.
• That I thought to put the whites in the dryer before I left and actually had clean dry underwear to get into.
• That I hadn't started any other laundry so my mud covered clothes could go straight in the washer.
• That my shower is literally feet away from my washer, so the distance I needed to streak wasn't far.
• That there was plenty of warm water, which felt so soothing on my now skinless patch of forearm.
• That my cute Hubby was there to take care of 'Lil - and even hosed all the mud off my bike and trailer.
• That my biggest plan for the day was to fold laundry, so I could take it easy.
• That 'Lil still takes 2-3 hour naps so there is even more rest time for me.
• That, as I came to realize just how beat up my knee, back, and shoulder actually are, all I need is some painkiller and a few days of taking it easy instead of something much, much worse.
• That here, on my blog, I can tell of my stupidity and you won't chew me out for it. Yes, I was probably going to fast, but I bet anyone coming off that hill with a trailer would have been going at the same speed. And instead of telling me how stupid I was, you will commiserate with my stupidity, and let me know that I'm still a decent person instead of a complete idiot.

That last one is really big to me. Thank you for reading my ramblings. Thank you for keeping judgments to yourself - I've never had a mean comment on my blog. Thank you for putting up with my craziness.

Thanks for helping my gratitude day.

Turning up the heat

One day, Hubby ruined my ironing board.

Ok, that sounds bad.  Hubby is a delightful man who does all his own ironing. So I really can't complain too much. And in his defense, our iron was acting up and ended up completely shorting out.  I just wish he hadn't laid it down on the ironing board when he realized it was happening.

So, for months now, we've tried to iron around this:

It even went clear through to the pad underneath.

Now, I've never liked this cover.  And it was yucky and stained all over too.

So I thought I'd make a pretty one with this fun fabric:

There are lots of tutorials out there to recover your ironing board.  This one and This one were the two that I used.

Trying it on for size before the elastic

All in all, I'm super happy with the results!

 And a bonus - I actually learned how to use bias tape right!

I found a tutorial on making your own bias tape - something I've done lots of times before. And then, I read her instructions for actually sewing it on. It was life changing!  I've always just sandwiched it in, and never been very happy with the results.  This is so much better!

Of course, you don't actually see the bias tape on the top:

But it still, I love the contrast.

The only thing I'd change is the amount of elastic on the cover. You do actually need 4 yards, but only to thread it through.   Once I pulled it tight, I used only about 2 yards.

Whose wish will Come?

This child.

This long awaited for child.

Is not perfect.

No child is.

But there's a problem.  A minor problem.  One that I want to be fixed so desperately.

She doesn't talk.

I take that back. She never stops talking. Unfortunately, it's not real words that she speaks.

'Lil has a total of 4 words, and only one of those is a "real" verbal word.  She waves goodbye; She signs please; She excitedly proclaims "Mmmmmmmm!" if something tastes good; and she says "uh-oh".

That's it.  No "mama". No "dada". 

By this point, she should have about 50 words.

My major in college was Communicative Disorders.  I know she has a language delay/disorder (the only difference between the two is severity).  I know she's smart. I know with some therapy, she'll get it, and I think she'll get it quickly.

For a very long time, I didn't really think about it. She was older when she figured out how to crawl - but then started moving super fast.  She didn't start walking until 15 months - but then three days later was literally running after Grandma's cat.  I thought she'd do the same with talking - nothing, then start talking in sentences.

Then I realized that I'd been waiting for more than five months.

A month ago, we started the process to see if she qualifies for early childhood services. In all the testing, I realized that she's just on the line. She might qualify, but she might not be delayed enough.  We should hear back any day now.

I want her to qualify.

Hubby doesn't.

I want my daughter to talk to me.  I want the screaming frustrations to stop.  I want to hear her say my name for real.  I want to understand what she's trying to tell me.

I think Hubby doesn't want his child to be "diagnosed" with a problem.  He doesn't think she needs help.  He doesn't remember just how much our other children were saying at this age.

I wonder if it's my background why I accept the idea that she has a problem so easily. It's not a major problem - she just needs a little instruction to learn to talk.  But Hubby hates the whole idea.  Hating it and hiding your head won't help her, though.

Whose wish will come true?  We'll just have to wait and see.

One of those days.

 

Do you ever feel like laundry is slowly taking over your entire world?

My bed is somewhere under all that. But at least I know I'll finish folding laundry if I want to actually sleep tonight!

Pumpkin Roll Winner!

Ready to find out who gets the newest Sadie book?

And who is #2?

It's Paily!

See, the luck finally comes through girl!

Let me know your physical address and I'll send it out when I finally drag myself to the post office!

my big church bag- and a GIVEAWAY!

A few months ago, I was "upgraded" in my church calling. I now have way too much responsibility (though, at least I'm not president!) and a big honkin binder I need to lug everywhere.

My cute really cheap tote bag was now not adequate for all the stuff I need. So I was on the hunt for a nice huge bag to take to church.

While looking for a fabulous purse to maybe sew, I stumbled up on this tote bag pattern:

Super easy, and cute too.

I mostly followed her easy instructions, with just a few changes.

First of all. I needed it to have a much wider bottom. So instead of making the bottom triangles 4" (it will make sense when you read the pattern), I made mine 7".

I also added pockets and an extra bottom pattern like she did in her other version.

While finding a purse to sew, many people suggested using plastic canvas to make it stiff and stand on its own.  The tote pattern suggested fusible fleece. After seeing the price tag on that stuff (it was almost $8 a yard!), I went for the plastic canvas option ($0.45 each!).  Here's how I did that part.

I made the lining just as the pattern instructs. After cutting off the bottom triangle thingies, I lined up a piece of plastic canvas with the bottom corners:

And pinned it all over to keep it from moving around.

Then, I just VERY SLOWLY zigzagged around.

No, my stitch length didn't exactly line up with the openings of the canvas. That's why I went slow. I could actually feel the needle slip off the plastic into the squares once and a while.

I wasn't sure I could actually sew around all 4 sides on both pieces, so I just did a bit along the top & sides to make sure it didn't slide everywhere.

I repeated this with the other side

And . . .

Tada!

I'm super happy with it.  I didn't think about the fact that increasing the bottom would decrease the sides, and I wish it would have been about an inch taller:

But still, it's so nice that I can actually fit everything in there!


So, on to the giveaway. . . I bet you guys are thinking I'm giving one of these bags away, right. WRONG!

Guess what came in my mailbox the other day . . .

Yup! Book 6 in the Sadie Hoffmiller series.

Guys, don't read this one at night.  It's kind of creepy.  And there's a big old plot twist, again, that I did NOT see coming, but changed a ton for me.  You'll love it.  And,

To win your own signed-by-the-author copy, leave me a comment with either the title of a book you love, or a book you'd like to read.  Comments will close Sunday, Sept 4 at 7:00 central time, and I'll announce a  winner Monday morning!


*disclaimer shma:  I received two copies of this book as part of my participation in the test kitchen.  But I only give one away, 'cause I want to keep one too!