Pouting Princess

Our little princess has some trouble with life's uncertainties. They make her very anxious. I think she might get that from her mommy. She woke up at the crack of dawn this morning asking if Carnaval was today. That's how excited she was. According to her daddy, breakfast was like any other - maybe it even went a little more smoothly than most. Then it came time for her to dress. Big emotional scenes ensued.

I never did fully figure out the reason, but through her sobbing, I somehow got the gist. I think. I'm pretty sure she was uncertain of whether she was supposed to wear her costume to school or bring it to put on this afternoon. I, figuring that no teacher in her right mind would want to dress a sea of five-year-olds, put her dress on her this morning. She, however, was unconvinced. As a compromise, I put a change of clothes in her backpack. She still wasn't particularly happy about the entire thing, but after staying up till 1 am to sew her little spandex faux-gloves (by hand, no less - because the machine was getting quirky, and I have trouble correctly sewing spandex on a machine), I wasn't taking no for an answer.

The chaos caused us to run late for school, but I still snapped a few shots. The teachers can wait. I've got a blog to maintain here. All the emotions don't exactly make for the best of pictures, though. That didn't stop me, either. I was a woman on a mission. I will show you this dress, on its princess, no matter what the cost. So, please, appreciate them. Oh, and do you see that teeny-tiny smile she's got in the first picture? That was caused by me uttering one simple word: poo-poo. Works every time.


The second picture shows you just how modern a princess she is. If only we had some combat boots or Doc Martens. Oh well, these will have to do (she got those boots just after Christmas, and you almost have to pry them off her feet with a shoe horn - that's how much she loves them. She almost panicked the other day when Daddy mentioned it would soon be too warm for them.).



The third picture is a little too dim, but I wanted to show off the bustle section in the back. I really love the look of it. She wanted that straight skirt, which is what she sees in the back, but I wanted the poof, which is what I see when she turns away from me to pout. Perfect for all concerned! Anyway, it reminds me of some Victorian Era dress. Plus, as I mentioned yesterday, it'll give her room to play without tripping herself.

Batman was much easier, not only in terms of sewing, but he was also much easier to please. I started his costume pretty late last night, so I didn't have time to make the head piece, but the cape was pretty simple and turned out well. Because he was so easy to deal with this morning, he flew in under the radar at picture time (as Batman is known to do), so I can't show you. I'll get some pictures later, if the costume survives a day at preschool. I basically just made a simple cape with ties at the neck and wrists out of synthetic black felt I had around. I sewed the tie straps on by hand while watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith last night.

Oh, but what I can show you is the fun I had yesterday afternoon. Lambchop #3 and her daddy were both asleep, so I needed a quiet activity. My husband, practical man that he is, pointed out that I could have folded some laundry. Uh, yeah. He must have mistaken me for someone's else good housewife. I made bracelets, instead. Lots more fun. Trust me.




This first one is made with silver wire and little colored beads. I really don't know if they are glass or plastic beads. I no longer have their packaging to check. I started by randomly threading beads onto three coils worth of memory wire that I had curled one end with (so the beads wouldn't fall off). When it looked about right, I used the bendy pliers (pretty sure that's the official name for them) to make zigzags. I love asymmetry, so it didn't exactly matter if they didn't match up right from one coil to the next. I actually really like the way it turned out. I don't wear jewelry much, but I think this one is fun, and it's very light-weight and doesn't get in my way. I can almost forget that I'm wearing it (well, I could if it weren't for the fact that I have to stop to stare and think, "ooh shiny," from time to time). The beads are a free-floating, even through the zigzags. I think this gives it a bit of an abacus look.



This second one is actually the first of the two that I made. I made little zigzags that go out from the arm (instead of parallel to it) on this one. The zigzags keep the beads from moving around, which, in the end, I think makes a more comfortable bracelet. It makes a more cumbersome bracelet, but I think it's a fun look, too. A bit like some far off solar system we still haven't discovered. It seems a little less wearable than the other, but I still like it. This is probably mostly because I love wooden beads. I love the idea of wearing a piece of nature. Don't get on me about chopping down exotic trees to make me pretty. It surely can't be worse than giving tons of Chinese jewelry shop workers all sorts of lung diseases in pursuit of a cutesy piece of costume jewelry


Oh, and a little warning to all the knitters out there. Be very careful where you pose your buns. I accidentally sat on my knitting this morning while dressing Lambchop #1. The needle was a small gauge and actually punctured my behind (through a pair of jeans, no less). Stopping laughing. This is serious. If it had been rusty, I'd need a tetanus shot. It was a little like getting a tetanus shot, come to think of it, but with a 2.5 mm needle. Surely, the needles they use at the doctor's office are smaller than that. Needless to say, it was a wee bit painful. I highly unrecommend it. Definitely one of those "don't try this at home" things.

Oh, and my husband just came back from dropping the kids off a little bit ago. He said no other kids in her class were in their costumes. Hmmm. That could be humiliating. I'm glad that wasn't me. No, really, all kidding aside, I feel bad. Glad I packed that change of clothes. Hopefully, she'll think to tell the teachers. It's even making me doubt the Carnaval date, though I know it was today (yes, I just double-checked). Nowhere on the note they sent home did it mention when to put the costume on. I think I'm going to have to fire the kids' driver. He seems to be shirking his duties. Included in the task of dropping off and picking up kids is actually holding an occasional conversation with the teachers. After all the crying that went on here this morning, I know I'll never hear the end of having sent her, overdressed, into a room full of her peers. Motherhood is not easy, no matter what people might tell you.