New bag in the works...

Work in progress. I think I've perfected making pockets this time around! Super excited to get this bag finished up so I can use it!!

Best bag yet!

Definitely the best bag I've made yet. It's pretty plain but really cute. Honestly, photos don't really do it justice. I've stopped following tutorials online pretty much entirely and just kind of browse for tips and techniques now. It's really cool to watch something I saw in my head 'come to life.' The worst part is the lack of fabric stores on the island and the insane prices I find inside the few that are near here. I can find lots online but I'm just not comfortable enough yet with types of fabric to trust not being able to actually touch it.
Everything else in life pretty much sucks. I'm still feeling super sick. Honestly I just don't really feel up to blogging about anything important so I guess were going to just be stuck with craft blogs for awhile... I must admit sewing is now bordering on being an obsession but there's a therapeutic value to it that I am so incredibly thankful for...

Proof of Insomnia & Dr. Appointment Results

So I figured I'd post a couple pics of the robot stuff I made last night while I didn't sleep. The boys both enjoyed it very much this morning, coughs and sneezes included.

my camera phone kinda sucks. but you get the gist! 

this was the best face I could get from 'the sick one'

and this photo made my day. HAHA Liam the model :) Notice how he set Roarbert up on a pillow too? He had Ribbert on the other little pillow next to Roarbert but Jack stole him! 

Well Jack and I both went to the doctor this morning. Jack just has a cold. They gave me "permission" and the dosage to give him some over the counter children's cough meds and said I should definitely consider giving them to him at night, sleep is going to be the most effective medicine in this battle. Thankfully no ear infection!! I was worried because he kept telling me that they hurt but they're looking ok. 

And I too just have a cold. The doctor I saw (because the stupid appointment line people wouldn't just book us together- which of course the clinic told me that was what I should have done!) gave me some cough meds with codeine!! Hooray! I am very much looking forward to taking some tonight and getting some sleep after only getting about 3 hours last night. However, my ears were plugged because they were super waxy. Ever had your ears irrigated? Absolutely disgusting! I'm not going to go into detail about it because quite frankly I'm trying to block it out of my brain :) But now I have a wicked headache and I'm praying this nurse didn't mess up my ears, I'm in way more pain but I can hear now... you win some you lose some I guess...

Munchkins are sleeping so this mama is going to try to rest. We're skipping church this evening because I just don't feel up to it. Praying for a less sick tomorrow... I'm so over this! 

Insomnia

It's 1:58 a.m. and sleep is nowhere in sight.
Ugh.
Poor Jack has gotten sicker. He didn't seem nearly as sick today as yesterday but by this evening he was just miserable. We had class this evening so our babysitter put the boys down. Not even 5 minutes after we got home Jack woke up and was just sad. It breaks my heart to see him like this. He just kept asking me to hug him. I made him an appointment at the doctor for this morning so hopefully they'll be able to give us something to help him kick this... vitamins just aren't cutting it this time.
On the plus side during this bout of insomnia I made Jack a new fleece blanket and some throw pillows (as if a 3 year old needs throw pillows, lol, but I had extra fabric) to match his robot theme he's got goin on. At least I accomplished stuff I guess!
Well Jacob just sat up and told me to "go to sleep!!" So I'm going to attempt this sleep thing one more time...

Body aches, sneezes, and coughs OH MY!

Well Jack and I are both sick. Jacob was getting sick late last week but was better by Sunday. But it's fair to assume that we were infected by Jacob. We haven't really gone anywhere and Jack's tutors have been healthy recently so we're blaming Jacob :)
Yesterday was definitely the worst day so far. I woke up this morning and felt better and Jack looked significantly better as well. As the day has worn on I'm feel really achy and icky again. The boys are taking a super long nap right now so hopefully that means Jack's little body is working on kickin' this bug!
I knew going into today that laying around feeling sick just wasn't going to be an option. So instead of slowing down to let the sickness take hold I've been busy, busy, busy all day. Inevitably this evening I'm sure I will crash- but hopefully not until after I get to the grocery store! This mother's cupboards are incredibly bare!
So during nap today I decided to try to 'free hand' a little wallet. It turned out pretty well! The stitching is a little wonky in places but you can only see it on the inside so who cares! I definitely need to find a better way of sewing on zippers though, this was the first zipper I've ever "installed" so it was a learning experience. I'm pretty excited though! I found this fabric at the fabric store a few weeks ago and just had to have it. I bought it without having any idea what I'd use it for but this turned out to be a pretty good use (I still have ton left for another project eventually).
I'm getting really excited about all this sewing stuff. I'm starting to get pretty good at it! Jacob and I were talking the other day about what I'm going to do when both boys go to school. I really doubt I'm going to be able to just sit around at home all day. Maybe I'll become a seamstress?? It's a completely practical job that I could probably find work wherever we end up... Hmm... I guess time will tell! For now I'm trying to find some classes somewhere on the island so I can actually learn techniques and tips. I'm just not one of those people who can learn from youTube videos.
Anyways, as you can tell by the rambling my brain is a bit mushy today. So I'm just going to finish with a couple pics of the new wallet!!

if I had to pick a style of fabric to represent me, this would be it. I don't know what you would classify this type of design as but I LOVE IT!

you can see my crooked stitching on the one side, definitely because it was a complete PAIN to sew the zipper in the way I did, the other side is straight :) But it's got a big pocket on the one side and card holders on the other. 

What I've done today...

So I haven't done a whole lot for anyone but myself today. But sometimes days like this are necessary. I've been sewing like crazy recently but I haven't sewn anything for myself. Until today!

I had these two old dresses in my closet balled up in the corner for probably about a year now. I'm notorious for buying things I like and then they don't fit. LOL. Of course I never return them. But today I had a brilliant idea to turn the dresses into skirts! I just cut off the top of each of them (which was the part that didn't fit- I'm much too top heavy, nothing fits!) and just sewed across the top! I had to add elastic to the one because it was gigantic when I removed it from the top part. But the other was gathered enough that I just had to clean up the edge. Easy peasy! And I LOVE them. I absolutely adore the fabric which was why I bought them in the first place. And now I can actually enjoy them! Conveniently I was just about to endure the horrific task of trying to find some new skirts for church.. and now I don't have to!! YEAH!!

And my real success of the day is....

A cute little cover for my Bible! I have terrible eyes so I had to find a large print bible and I love the King James Version so I was left with virtually no "cute" options. It's actually a really ugly maroon color. I've always disliked it but I dealt with it because it was the version and the size text I needed. Jacob once tried to buy me a case for it but it too was horrific- It looked like a "Barbie" case, bright pink and sparkly, not quite my cup of tea. So I set out to sew myself one I liked! I absolutely love this fabric but I'm down to almost just scraps of it and I can't find anymore anywhere. But thankfully there was just enough left for this! It was surprisingly easy to do too. I added a little brown button down on the bottom right corner for some embellishment and made a little page marker to match the case (the one on the Bible is ugly maroon too!) but you can't see it all that well on here but it's there! 

So day two of no facebook has turned out to be incredibly productive :) 

It's been awhile!

Wow, has it really been that long since I last posted? 


We seem to be sliding downward again with Jack. Last Thursday he had a meltdown when his tutor got here over her asking him how he was, seriously, that's all it took. He refused to answer and began screaming and crying and throwing things. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to quit anytime soon she just picked him up and carried him up to his play room where he proceeded to go on for what seemed like forever. They eventually got through his work for the day, but not without a lot of tears. Friday was more of the same, not quite as bad, but not what we've come to expect as "normal." No tutor today and it was rough. He had a terrible day at school - which I wasn't expecting being that it was Valentine's Day so there was fun stuff going on, including the cupcakes he helped me make last night. But he had quite a few big tantrums. This entire afternoon was spent picking fights with Liam. Eventually it ended in a big blow out with him slapping me across the face and proceeding to throw everything he could all over the living room. I just sat on the couch holding Liam and ignoring him until he stopped - it was obviously attention seeking - everything he threw he would pause and look at me, waiting to get a reaction. Eventually he realized that he wasn't going to get attention like that and came over and nicely asked for a cup of milk. It amazes me how quickly he can calm down sometimes. I was relieved, for one it was nice that he stopped on his own, and for two, the fact that he did stop just like that was proof that it was simply just trying to get attention. I told him he had to clean up the damage (which was quite extensive, nothing was broken but it looked as if a toy store had exploded in the living room. this quite frankly scares the s*** out of me. he's three and can throw one hell of a tantrum- what will we do when he's 13?!?) before he got his milk and he did with no complaints. We then had a little "heart to heart" about what he did and how it wasn't ok and he curled up on the couch as if nothing had happened. Sometimes it's all so confusing. I wonder if this is the typical "horrible three year old" behavior (because he is three, Autistic or not, he is three years old and has to deal with all that stuff on top of his Autism) or the Autism. I'm hoping to get a chance to sit down and talk with his BCBA (the woman in charge of his tutoring program) and pick her brain about all this stuff. It's hard when you're changing programs as frequently as we have had to this last year. It all just becomes a jumbled mess. 


School is still a nightmare. I seriously do not know what I'm going to do with them. UGH! I heard that there is a teacher at the school Jack went to for summer semester that "specializes" in Autism and basically has a preschool classroom set up specifically for Autistic children. So hopefully tomorrow I will begin the process of getting some magical piece of paper called a "geographic exemption" that will give us the ability to go to a different school than where we're charted to go geographically. For real, could they make this maze of education ANY more confusing?! Even if we get the approval to switch schools I have no idea how difficult it will be to get into this woman's class. The person who told me about her said she's the best preschool teacher on the island. Which is great. Except the fact that everyone and their grandma are probably trying to get in there too. Wish me luck. I hate this crap. 


Other than that, not much is going on. Just the same old, same old. I did however purchase a new sewing machine a week ago and have been sewing my little heart out! I always enjoyed sewing when I was a little girl and so it's kind of therapeutic. I honestly don't know what I'm doing (lol) but I'm figuring it out as I go. I've made like 5 pairs of pajama pants for the boys, a purse for myself, a valance for the kitchen window (out of an incredibly ugly chicken fabric remnant I found for $1!! I love ugly things- sounds strange- but it's true), and tonight I almost finished sewing a skirt for myself. I've almost got my little sewing corner set up, when I get it finished I'll post a picture. Now if only I could have like a couple days to lock myself away up here and just sew until I couldn't sew anymore I'd be a happy gal!