SAHM

I know that some of you probably think it's tough to keep yourself sharp as a stay-at-home-mom.  It's not like there's a lot of deep intellectual conversations going on here... though today, Noelle and I read no fewer than 30 books while Riley was at preschool.  Oh.  Yeah.

So in case you're worried that you're not as quick as you used to be, read on.  Here's what I did today.  (Be ready to be impressed.)  After the kids went down, I went to get lunch ready for myself.  I pulled some leftover fried rice out of the fridge and emptied the container into a bowl.  Then, I decided that it was time to make sure I was still on my game.  I put the bowl in the microwave, hit the "add 30 seconds" button, then ran with the tupperware to the sink.  I grabbed the sponge and, racing the clock, scrubbed that container and lid and tossed them in the drying rack.  I turned back to the microwave... 4 seconds to spare.  Boom.  I am an efficiency machine.  It's things like this that, I'm sure, would make for a killer resume.

And maybe, just perhaps, I do feel the need to do something productive -- besides microwave racing-- during my days, so that's part of the reason for the sewing.  It's nice having at least one thing to show for myself at the end of the day.  Because really, most of my "job" is made up of tasks that easily go unnoticed: laundry keeps coming, dishes keep getting dirtied, dog hair DOES NOT go away, and the girls-- believe it or not-- don't always clean up their toys. 

My latest project is one that I LOVED doing because I not only saved us some cash by doing it myself, but I saved myself loads of irritation and a little laundry.  You see, Brooks is a spitter.  And it's amazing how he can hold that spit-up in until he's lying on a freshly-changed crib sheet.  It, literally, can be two spit-up-free hours post-feeding, I lay him down and up comes curdled milk.  Gross.

I vaguely remembered Ashley posting something about crib savers on her blog, but this mother to a newborn isn't always certain of her thinking skills, so I called her yesterday, just to double-check.  Sure enough, she assured me that crib savers do exist and that she got hers at Babies R Us.  I immediately solidified it in my plans that we would be heading to Babies R Us later in the day.

After nappies, all three kids and I hopped in the car.  As we were on our way, Mike called and I described our intended target to him.  As I was describing, I realized, Wait a second... I can make those.  See, this is why I have to double-check my thinking.  I'm a flake.  So instead of heading to Babies R Us, we made Jo-Ann's our destination.  I mean, these sheet saving devices are one of those brilliantly simple ideas.  If you've changed many crib sheets, you'll understand.  It's a little bit of a hassle.  Removing the crib saver is about 84 times easier.  (I may exaggerate.)

But anyway, I realized that I could make them, no problem.  So we headed to Jo-Ann's, bought the necessary materials, and I smiled as I looked at my receipt.  After tax, my total was $13.87.  At Babies R Us, one crib saver cost $7.99, before tax.  And here's the best part: with the fabric I got, I'll be able to make... wait for it... SIX crib savers.  Woohoo!  And they'll be cuter.  As Mike said when I was raving about my triumph, "What kid wouldn't want to puke on something cuter?"  I agree, Darling. :)

So here's my first one, which will be followed by more!  I'm thinking I'm going to start giving these as baby shower gifts, too, because they're fun and easy to make and so stinking practical.  Love all those things.

I'm going to call mine the Crib Bib. All babies, after all, are partial to a good (or even just a mediocre) rhyme.

I also have to mention that I loved buying boy fabric. Don't get me wrong-- I still love the ruffles and cutesy stuff, but there's something really adorable about puppies and robots and monsters. Which reminds me, I have made Brooks a boy outfit, but he doesn't fit in it, so you'll just have to wait. Don't let the suspense kill you, my four readers. ;)