Bear Lamp Refurb: Kinda OK!

Okay, so here's the deal. I had this cute teddy bear lamp that my grandma and grandpa gave us when Carter was born - but it no longer matched his room and it wouldn't match Elsa's room, so it was in the give away pile until one of the children saw it and pitched an unholy fit (because we simply cannot abide things disappearing from our home).

So I agreed to use the lamp in Elsa's room -- but the colors didn't match the bubble-gum pink scheme we have on the walls, so something had to give. I figured I'd just refurbish it - so I removed the outer part of the shade (it had a teddy bear print on it) and decided to dust and hand-paint the rest of the lamp in colors that matched the eventually-to-be color scheme for the room (if I *EVER* manage to do the artwork). So here, my friends, is the finished product. I'm not terribly happy with the lamp shade. I might just go to Big Lots and grab a new, plain white one, but this'll do for now. Chances are good Elsa will forgive me for some messy recovering, right?

Today's Craft: Husker themed newborn gown!

What do you do when your husband is drowning in Nebraska Cornhusker t-shirts and yet you have nothing for your wee daughter-to-be to wear on Nebraska/CU game day? (Please be here by then, Ms. Elsa. Please. I beg of you. Please!)

Why, you make a gown! You start with a t-shirt. . .

Cut it into pieces:

And sew it back together!!

Next up? LAMP overhaul, Window treatments, and the coming home outfit!

Oh, what wonderful things. . .

In a world without internet, fashionable friends, and crafty neighbors, my children would have lovely, plain nurseries with pre-purchased decorations.

I'd go to Target and point-and-click myself into a nursery. While I was there, I'd probably buy a coming home outfit. Everyone would be happy.

But no. No. Not me. Me, the woman with 2 children, 1 frog, 1 froglet, and a yowling senile cat, the woman who works 30 hours a week with only 16 hours a week of childcare, all while gestating. . . I've decided to get crafty.

Add to the craftiness a deep and loud self-criticism AND being a perfectionist and you've got: WHACKADOODLE PREGNANT LADY!!!

So what's on the agenda?
* Making a new crib skirt. Perhaps breatheable bumpers. Maybe. We'll see. Maybe not.
* Finding a cheap canvas (hellloooooooooo Goodwill & Savers!) to paint over and make a painting for the nursery
* Painting letters for the room (50% complete)
* Refurbishing an old lamp from Carter's room to be appropriate for Elsa's room - it's got a little teddy bear scene on the lamp base -- I need to recover the shade and repaint the lamp base. I just started this today, so I'm about 20% done.
* Coming Home Outfit (dress is purchased, hat and mitts are complete, sweater is 30% complete, and socks/booties still need to be done)

Then it's on to wall art. Perhaps a blanket/quilt? Cute owl-shaped pillows? Who knows.

What I'd really like, more than anything, is to be a weeeeeeeee bit less crafty. ;)

Edited to add: Listen up crafty friends: I say this with love. Despite my feeling overwhelmed by the need for homemade things, I am utterly grateful to have those around me who've helped me get over my "I can't!" and into "Holy crap, I just pulled up half the carpet in the house." I am often in awe of the things you create - and the things you inspire *me* to create.

This morning I showered with Batman

and Padme Amadala. And the letters A, C, and Z. And Polly Pocket.

As I sudsed my hair, I reflected upon my preconceived notion, prior to having children, that somehow parenthood endowed a person with a certain amount of laziness. Look, after all, at any mother's minivan on any given day of the week - how many stories have we heard about finding that single stinky sippy cup full of 3 month old milk under the seat? How many loaves of bread or buckets of nuggets could we compile if we took a parking lot's worth of minivans and vacuumed them out? I assumed (we all know how that works out) that it was sheer laziness that led a parent to live that sort of. . . dingy. . . lifestyle.

And good parents too. Plenty of AWESOME moms and dads have succumbed to the child-related mess, from pacifiers in purses to toys in the shower. But why?

Now that I've been a parent for 8 years, I think I know. If Prometheus could have made his liver stop growing back. . . if Sisyphus could have let the rock roll and wipe his brow -- they would, yes? To be clear, I do not believe that being a parent is torture - but I do believe that this aspect of parenting is torture: the sheer weight of duties done daily to absolutely no effect.

Recall, if you will, the Simpsons episode when Marge spends the day cleaning the kitchen. Her family barges in and the doors swing open to a sparkling haven. The doors swing back and it's covered in filth. This is, in a nutshell, part of the chaos of parenting.

And yet, recall the same cartoon when Marge gets the extra fancy house that cleans itself. She's left bored in the kitchen drinking wine at 10 a.m..

Sometimes the chaos is the best part.

But sometimes, just sometimes, you give up. Give in. Shower with Batman and crew.