We are in the throws of potty training around here and having some success. At home we use pull-ups most of the time but daycare is of the “anti-pull-up” philosophy so M can go through up to 4 outfits a day there. It’s kind of like having an infant all over again. 

After a week or two of doing laundry every single night just to keep the kid in clean duds at school I got fed up.  On Friday she and I hit the discount-store circuit in search of cheap princess undies (the ONLY princess stuff she’s allowed to wear) and scored some “irregulars” at Burlington Coat Factory for next to nothing.  She now has a dozen freshly laundered pairs for school, complete with her name in Sharpie on the waistband. 

Now for the clothing question.  Mark already purchased a couple of cheap shorts  (can I tell you how much I love that Garanimals is back and costs only about $3 per item?) but they weren’t enough.  This girl needs to have a stash of at least 4 things to wear at school at all times.  This drastically cut down on the rotation of warm-weather outfits in the drawers at home.  So faced with a long weekend and with a stack of fabric still sitting on the shelf she now has two new sundresses to add to her repertoire:

It’s impossible to get this kid to stand still AND look at the camera in the same moment

These were made using the instructions found here, which I found from Sweet Juniper Woodcraft (I pink puffy heart Wood for finding these great, easy projects).  This dress is incredibly easy and anyone with a machine who can sew a straight(ish) line can crank one out in fewer than 2 hours.

The first one I finished on Saturday morning while M and Mark were at the Farmer’s Market.  I hung it up just inside the door and when she came in she squealed “my new dress!” and started pulling her clothes off in anticipation of putting it on.  The dragon dress I finished that evening while she was sleeping and hung it at the bottom of the stairs. Sunday morning she put it on over her pajamas and declared it a “perfect princess dress!” (okay, kid – if you want to think navy-blue Chinese dragons are princessy, please continue).

I loved the instant satisfaction of making this dress along with the feeling of being a magician when I take raw fabric and turn it into something awesome. I want to make more but I think 2 dresses are enough for M. Instead I’m planning on using 2 coordinating fabrics to make dresses for my cousin’s girls (one is nearly 2, the other 6 months old) for when we see them next month. That way I can still get my seamstress on while looking like a superhero-sewing mama to my family. Because you know, it’s all about me after all.