Posts Tagged ‘children’s clothes’
Sammi and I spent the last year going round and round about preschool. She wanted to go so desperately but the only programs I could find in our very rural area were run through the school district which meant five days a week 5-6 hours a day. I didn’t want her gone so long. The final straw was when she started telling people I wouldn’t let her go to preschool because I didn’t like school. That took several days and a LOT of conversations with Sammi to straighten out! We finally compromised by calling everything we did at home (crafts, cooking, music and movement, dress up) preschool activities.
The other part of the compromise is that I would let her go to an all day/five days a week program when she was four. I picked a school a little farther from our house because it has a smaller class size and the teachers came highly recommended. We went in May to register Sammi for her class and meet her teacher. She was in love! She was so upset she had to wait all summer to go back to school. I didn’t know when school started exactly (they said they’d send me a letter sometime in July or the beginning of August!) so all I could tell her was “in the fall.”
Once we knew the official date, we made a countdown chain. She was so excited and got to stay up late one night to make it with me. The next morning she helped me make one for Elli for her birthday which was just a few weeks after school started (in fact, it’s tomorrow!) The girls loved their chains. And yes, Elli is wearing one of Sammi’s skirts like a strapless gown.
We had a lot of fun doing some back-to-school shopping. I wanted to make sure we had enough of everything that she would need so before we went shopping, I wanted to go through all her clothes to see what fit and what she had outgrown. I knew she wouldn’t have the attention span for all of it so we turned it into a fashion show. I put all the shirts in one pile and all the pants/shorts/skirts in another pile and let her pick the combinations. I made her bend over, sit down and stand back up in all the pants to make sure they weren’t too tight on her tummy or too low in the back. Amazingly, we went through all the clothes in just over an hour! I had an empty box ready and tossed in all the “rejects” as we went along. Then we folded up the rest and put them back in her drawers. We were done in time to make dinner!
Sammi wanted so much to take her backpack to school even though she didn’t need to take anything. So we put her extra change of clothes in the backpack and she was off for her first day. We went into her room and she was off to explore. And so was Elli. Elli was most unhappy when it was time for us to go and she didn’t get to stay and play. It’s gotten better but it still takes me at least 10 minutes to leave when we pick Sammi up. They both just want to play as much as they can. It’s a fun room so I just go with the flow.
So far she loves school and is excited to get up every morning and go. She’s starting to talk about her classmates by name and tell me all the fun things they do every day. So far, she has come home with paint on her shirt every day, so I’m guessing she loves that station! She also loves playing outside for recess and being the line leader.
The winner of Amanda Sews Baby Leg Warmers giveaway is commenter #8, Maryanne @ Mama Smiles. Congratulations! I’ll be sending you an email today to arrange delivery of your “multicolored stripe ones with pink on the ends.”
Amanda’s leg warmers are only $5! That’s such a great deal. And she’s got an amazing collection. Plus her other items are totally cute. Gets me baby hungry just looking at that cute baby sleep sack.
I’m so ready for spring! I love the warmer weather and the chance to get back outside. The girls have been missing the park so much, but it’s just been so cold/muddy/snowy over the last little while that I haven’t felt good about taking them out to play. This week we’ve spent recovering from ear infections {blah} so I’m definitely ready for some warmer weather.
The girls are itching for warmer weather, too, as they’ve taken to wearing summer dresses around the house. Most of Sammi’s dresses are pretty long, but poor Elli’s toddler dresses barely come to her knees. I keep searching through her clothes to find leggings for her. That’s when it {finally} hit me how ingenious baby leg warmers really are. I never really saw the need with Sammi, but I totally get it now with Elli and am dying to get my hands on some!
In the meantime, I have some to give away to one lucky reader! I recently reconnected with a long-ago friend on Facebook {gotta love it!} and she happens to have an etsy shop where she sells leg warmers, among other beautiful creations. Amanda has offered a pair of leg warmers to one of BBGU’s readers. First, a little about Amanda and second, the guidelines for the giveaway.
Amanda Sews
“My business mostly started by accident. My mom liked sewing things for me when I was a child, and I learned to sew from her and some of her friends and family members. As an adult, I’ve often sewn things for myself and even made a few things for friends. After I had my daughter, I started making things for her. I had people approach me asking about some of the things I’d made for her, so I decided to open an etsy shop selling some of my creations. Through local boutiques, I’ve had the opportunity to make some custom adult things too. I’m learning to design my own patterns, when I can’t find patterns for what I want to make. Coming up with my own sleepsack pattern was a process that took me a couple months and lots of trial and error.
“I have always collected fabric and have a huge stash (some of it inherited from family members), so having a place to keep it all is important. When we moved into our house, I had my very own room for sewing. But, when Jess was born, that room became her room. Luckily, we have a very large master bedroom, so I use part of it as my sewing area. I love having enough space to keep my machines set up, so when I only have a few minutes and feel like some quick sewing, I can do so. I periodically go through my fabric to see what interests me or fits with ideas I have floating around in my head. For example, lately I’ve been thinking about spring/summer dresses, so when I rediscovered some vintage Hawaiian shirts and muumuus my grandmother gave me several years ago I knew they would be perfect for refashioning into little girl’s dresses.
“Family always comes first, so most of my sewing is done when Jess takes her daily nap (along with everything else we Moms have to do during naps). When things get more busy, I also end up sewing at night after she’s gone to bed or on Saturdays when John is home. There are always more projects than there is time for and I always seem to have at least half a dozen projects in various stages of completion (not counting the list of ideas I haven’t even started yet). Sometimes I get a little burnt out, but it usually doesn’t last too long. 
”
Leg Warmers Giveaway
The deadline for the giveaway is Wednesday, March 10 at midnight EST. There are multiple ways to enter. You can tweet and post on Facebook as many days as you’d like with one entry for each day. Here are all the ways you can enter:
REQUIRED:
- Visit Amanda’s etsy shop and pick the set of leg warmers you would choose if you win. Come back and leave a comment saying which ones you’d like to win.
- Please leave a separate comment for each entry to make sure all your work is rewarded.
Optional:
- Subscribe to Because Babies Grow Up (if you’re already subscribed, leave a comment saying that)
- Become a fan of Because Babies Grow Up on Facebook
- Tweet “@ajpassey has a #giveaway for a pair of leg warmers for little ones. Come join the fun: http://bit.ly/bLVN7w”
- Post on Facebook “Because Babies Grow Up is giving away a pair of leg warmers for little ones. Come join the fun: http://bit.ly/bLVN7w”
Good luck with the giveaway! Please leave all your comment entries by midnight EST Wednesday March 10. The winner will be announced Thursday March 11.
Or delivered to your inbox:
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