It Is Important To Her, So That Makes It Important To Me

Life has been a chaotic mess. Pretty much all year, but most especially recently. It has left me questioning where I stand on so many issues. Questioning how to navigate and what is called of me as a wife, and as a mom. My most recent challenge? Taking my daughters on a special trip. 

My oldest daughter has started a long-distance relationship with a boy. First (and, hopefully only) one! They met at the Christian summer camp a couple years back. Apparently, he was really taken with her. Since then, they have been talking online. As a mother, that keeps me conflicted. She's so young. But she's growing up. They have to keep it long distance. But that keeps her on the safe side things. It has led to questions and conversations. To growth. To maturity. I see the shift in her. I'm both proud and scared for this girl of mine. But it is about to get more real. He is having a birthday party that he hoped she would attend. They didn't get to go to camp together this year. And he hasn't been able to come all the way out here. So... I'm determined to take her out there. Even if it means going on a 5 or so hours drive one way, stay 2 nights and then make that trip back! 

On the other side, my younger daughter has been begging to see her best friend again. Since the 2 locations for these are about 20 minutes apart, I figured, why not? I'll kill two birds with one stone! I'll also get to hang with my friend and meet the boys family. So win-win, right? 

All this would not have been possible if it were not for the support of my loving husband. He agreed to take over the driving of our sons to and from work. And to help me save for the trip. He asked me a loaded question before agreeing to this. "Are you sure you can handle making this trip alone?" You see, I don't like driving so much these days. People are crazy. Irresponsible. Jerks. Entitled. And it makes me nervous to go so far without him there. He's my pillar. But after putting some thought into this, I came to this strong realization. This is important to both of my daughters. This is a chance we rarely get. This is something both have been really wanting for so long. So, yes. This is something I need to do. For them. And I will step up to the challenge. For them. 

So here is to the planning that I'm going to put into this! Here is to making this weekend trip amazing. For the girls! And here is to being a Mom they can be proud of.  

No Zipper? I Can Fix That!

My mother-in-law sent my husband and I these hoodies. They are sooooo soft! Perfect for chilly days... only problem was that they didn't have zippers. Neither of us like hoodies that have to be pulled over. But I had an idea. And while not the most accomplished seamstress, I'm no slouch either. Took me a while, but I found some zippers and got to work! 

Our local Hobby Lobby had zippers, but not the 26 inch I was hoping for. Since only even numbers are what they had, we had to go with a 24 and it was... a little short. But not too bad, I think. I figured out exactly where I wanted the zipper to go and cut from bottom to top. 

Even through the pocket in the middle. 

I pinned the zipper sides to each side and sewed them up. The bottom edge was longer and the top gave me trouble on the white one since it crossed a bit, but overall, I was pleased with the result. 

Sadly, it turned out that my husband didn't fit his. Too much muscle in his chest!

But that just meant that my daughter inherited a new hoodie. Win-win! 

Little things like this give me a sense of accomplishment. A sense of doing something worthwhile. It might not be perfect, but I can still be proud of what I managed to do on my own. And I also learned some things about sewing on zippers... 

Drumroll Please! Time for the Final Reveal!

I've completed the museum! Talk about a major build. But it was fun. Took so long because of life events getting in the way. Don't you just hate those? Those real life moments that bust in when you just want to be creative and play with your toys? Yeah.. me too. But here we are! Time for the final reveal, everyone. 

So much of this build was just random fun finds that I loved piecing together to make all this magical. A lot of fun donations from other people in my life as well that helped me get it to this point.  

Tell me something, what part of a museum is your favorite? Is there something about science or history that really gets you hooked? What is the best exhibit you have seen?  

One exhibit I have been to was the Body Exhibit. My husband took me back when we were dating. The human body fascinates me! So incredibly complex and capable.  

History is my favorite part in a museum though. I love seeing where the past has brought us. And where it continues to take us.  

Now that I have teased you with the still photos, how about a video tour?  

Pride as a Mom

We had the vendors day! It was a long day. We were not able to stay the last two hours. Even in the shade, both girls were getting too much heat. But for all the hours we did spend there, we had fun! And we did make enough money to make it worth the spot fee. Already planning ahead to the fall one. 

Together, we navigated learning what to do and what not to do. For instance, keep the table in the shade. Things in the sun got very hot! Made things less appealing to customers. 

Another lesson? Make signs to advertise what some products are. My youngest made melted bead art. Meant to be sun catchers. No one knew what to make of those. One person thought they were coasters. They didn't sell very well. We are looking at ways to make them more appealing to customers next time. 

My older daughter was a little down because she wasn't the only crochet vendor. However, we quickly saw that her items were the kawaii versions. The other vendor specialized in characters. Especially the horror variety. So her little creatures were ooohed and awed over all day. Did not sell as many as she hoped, but enough that she was able to buy more materials to make others. 

This event made me proud as their mother. I got to see their joy when making a sale. I got to talk them through the disappoint when they didn't sell. I had the chance to walk through the recap moments and discuss what to do differently. And just be there for them through the whole thing. This was what meant the most to me!