It's A Sham.

For a chair. :)

In fact, this chair. Meet Poang:

And meet Cat #2. The furry, dimwitted kitty that loves this chair. Not because it's comfy. No. That's not why at all.

Apparently, Poang has a perfect combination of whatever kitties see as desirable when it comes to ripping apart furniture.

Case in point:

Yes. Lovely, isn't it? No, she's not declawed. I could go into my whole soapbox speech about why we shouldn't declaw cats. But. I'd be lying if I said the thought to get her declawed hadn't crossed my mind. Mulitple times.

But, that ship has sailed. Onto dealing with the chair.

I've been drooling over slipcovers from Bemz. But, my checking account hasn't. And while I would love one of those gorgeous slipcovers, I just can't fathom spending more than...let's say more than $25. I'm thrifty.

Thank goodness I can sew. I  got 2 yards of home decor fabric (on sale for 50% off. Score.) at the fabric store. Then I headed home and went about to making a slipcover sham for the chair.

First, if you are covering a Poang cushion, make sure you get 2 yards of home decor fabric that is 54" wide.

Cut off the lovely white ends so all you see is your beautiful fabric.

Next, fold the top (skinny) over about 3/4". Sew straight down to make one finished edge.

Yes, you'd probably use pins. But, pins hate me, and to be truthful, I'm not too fond of them either. :) They jab me unexpectedly. I forget about them and run over them with my sewing needle. No, pins and I do not get along. At. All. (Although I did have to use them later in the project.)

Now you'll want to cut your fabric in half, from top to bottom (skinny top. I have no idea how best to label this.), essentially making two 26" x 2 yards rectangles. Am I making any sense? If not, check out the picture below. :)

Alrighty. That's what one rectangle should look like. Now...here comes the "play it by ear and hope it works" part.

Take your cushion and lay it on the WRONG side of your fabric. Leave about 10" of fabric on the finished edge side. This will become the top part of the sham. Fold the fabric over.

Now, take the second rectangle, and place it on top of the cushion. Make sure finished edge is by the other finished edge. This will become the bottom part of the sham.

Starting to look like a pillow sham, isn't it?

Now you'll want to trim the bottom of the fabric. I left about 2 inches past the end of the cushion. Does that make any sense? I hope so because I failed to take pictures of this step.

Essentially I ended up with about 6" or so of excess fabric from one piece and about 18" excess from the other.

Next, you'll want to flip the rectangles over so they have the RIGHT sides together. Line up the bottom edge (not the sham edge) and pin. Yep, that's right, I said pin.

You'll end up sewing a square "U". The larger rectangle will be on the bottom, and it will be longer than the smaller rectangle. Make sure you line up the UNFINISHED bottom edge, not the finished edge. Start sewing at the finished edge of the short rectangle, and sew down from there. (This makes your square "U".)

Now, the next part is another cross your fingers and eyeball it. Slip the cushion into the cover, and fold the long edge of the cover over. I estimated where I needed to sew it over into a flap, and it ended up being about a 5" overlap over the short rectangle.

You are just going to sew the two sides from the fold down to the finished edge. You now have one long, rectangular sham, right?

Turn the sham so it is right side out. And begin the awkward task of trying to stuff your cushion into the sham. I don't know what is more difficult...this or trying to put a duvet comforter in. Haha.

But.

If my directions made any sense at all (I sure hope they did...if not, please ask!), you should end up with something like this:

It's not as fitted as the original slipcover. But...I like the way it looks casually comfortable. Dear Sweet Hubby was impressed. And Cat #2 can't quite figure out what happened.

It took me about an hour to do this, from start to finish. I really apologize for the semi-cruddy tutorial, but I hope it gives you an idea of the process. In summary, if you can make a pillow sham, you can make this slipcover. :) It was a lot of eyeballing and estimating, but I'm very happy with the results.

Here's What I've Been Up to Today:

Preschool planning. Preschool planning. Preschool planning.

And I'm loving it. :)

This past year of early preschool with LBB has taught us a few things about what works. What doesn't. And what we need to work on. So I'm having a blast sitting down and actually working on his curriculum.

It is tailor made just for him, so that means I'm putting a lot more work into it than if I ordered a curriculum (which would be nice...I just like to make sure it fits him to a tee. And this is a fun age to plan for!)

But, I've already got the school year calendar done. Planner printed out for the first 5 weeks. Curriculum themes planned for the whole year. And now I'm working on each week individually. My goal is to have the whole year planned, printed, and mostly prepared for before school starts. :) This past year I would do a few weeks at a time, and that caused us to sometimes get...a tad lazy. I'd forget to prep a week, then we'd skip a week. But, no more! I will be prepared!

Once I get the planning done, I get to adapt the dining room to a homeschool room that works for us, so that's my motivation. :)

What has your Monday been filled with? (And sorry for the scattered post...I'm a tad tired. I'm on attempt number 892 of going caffeine free. Wish me luck.)

Sunday Book Review: One-Dog Canoe

I decided that once a week, I'm going to start sharing a book review.

Mostly because the book we read today is just so darn cute. :)

Dear Sweet Hubby, LBB, and I dog-sat my parent's adorable little Shih Tzu this weekend, and LBB did such a wonderful job. He fed her. Hugged her. Gave her treats. Played with her. And even helped put her out for potty time.

He was "Dog-Sitter Extraordinaire."

And to thank him, PaPa and GiGi got him this book:

from amazon.com

It is the cutest story about a little girl who takes her pup out for a canoe ride, only to have lots of forest animals ask to join her on their canoe ride.

The story is written in wonderful rhyme. The pictures are beyond adorable. And the ending is so adorable and almost guaranteed to make a certain 2 year old gasp in delight. :)

LBB thought it was a hoot when the moose asked to join the canoe ride, and when I asked him if he thought the moose would be able to ride in the canoe, he emphatically said "Yeeeaaahhhh." :) Turns out, the Moose could.

So, whether you are looking for just a cute read, taking your little one on their first canoe trip, or studying forest animals, this book is a sure bet.

What I Love About Having a 2 Year Old

I read THIS blog post today, and loved it. It really made me stop for a minute and think about all the wonderful things I love about this stage.

• Watching his imagination unfold. He loves to pretend that he is grabbing the moon or lifting the trees off the side of the road while we drive, then he hands them to us like he is handing something really heavy over.
• Seeing him learn something new everyday. I love when he does a new trick. Learns a new color. Or says a phrase.
• The super big hugs and sloppy kisses.
• Hearing "I got it." For EVERYTHING. His independence can be a bit overwhelming at times, but I love seeing it blossom.
• Hours and hours of trains and cars. Our life revolves around the train table and his car playrug.
• His sense of humor...he has a sense of humor that is amazingly hilarious. He is a master of irony. He went with Dear Sweet Hubby to a store that Dear Sweet Hubby used to work at, and while in there, LBB said, "Oh my. Mesth. (Mess)" And then when we left he was quietly giggling in the back seat saying, "Oh my, Dada work. Mesth." So funny.
• I love the attention he shows to the things he loves. 
• His quirks may be numerous, and he definitely is on the extreme side of things a lot (even compared to most other toddlers), but those quirks make him the unique little guy that he is. They make him see the world in a different light, and as a result, makes us see things in a different light.

I could go on and on. The tough days are tough. (Today was one of them.) But, the wonderful days are over the moon wonderful. There are some unanswered questions about his behavior that we need to talk to his doctor about, but mostly to find ways to help him through the bad days. This stage is so much fun, and even with it's daily challenges I couldn't be happier. I'm trying very hard to remember that each stage of childhood passes so quickly, and making a list like this is definitely a good way to remember that.

What do you love about the age your child is at right now?

Random Musings of Our Week

*Sometimes the only way to take a cute picture of a stubborn toddler is to have Dear Sweet Hubby stand behind me with a play camera. Why will he happily ham it up for a play camera, but not for a real one?

*Gloomy weather after such beautiful weather puts me in a funk.

*It's been 3 months since I last rearranged ANYTHING in our home. Normally I rearrange twice a month (at least.) I'm beginning to go through withdrawls.......

*And it's been a couple of months since I updated anything decor wise in the apartment. This is not normal for me! :) I feel like I should be redecorating something.

*I need to sit down and start preparing LBB's preschool curriculum for next year. We are going to take it easy for the next few months...still learning and all, but it's going to be about time for him to start preschool this Autumn. He will be 3 this school year, after all. Yikes.

*That being said, any tips from homeschooling MaMa's out there when it comes to preschool? I know the basics: have fun, don't take it too serious, and whatnot. But where do you begin planning? Do any of you use curriculum? Input would be greatly appreciated. :)

*Making our first sale in our etsy shop was just as exciting as we thought it'd be. :)

*Sometimes even I get tired of how wishy-washy I am when it comes to decision making. I'm not going to say anymore details on the subject, but I really am the worst at changing my mind constantly.

*Even on extreme-toddler days, life doesn't get any better than when LBB gives me a big hug and kisses my cheek. I am one blessed girl.

Gluten-Free Fish Sticks

LBB is piiiccckkkyyy. I can't stretch that out enough.

He won't touch most anything you give him besides fruits, veggies, and the occasional g-free cookie.

But, he does like fish sticks. Score. Except, of course, that the only fish sticks we could find for him that were gluten free were 6 bucks a box...and that box is small. Now, he loved those fish sticks...but currently my budget doesn't.

So, what's a mom to do? I went on a mission to make some gluten-free fish sticks for him. The tough part? I generally despise eating fish, so I had no idea what a good fish stick tasted like. Fortunately Dear Sweet Hubby does. And the best part about these fish sticks? I even liked them. That's how good they are.

GLUTEN-FREE FISH STICKS

4 fish fillets---we used flounder, and picked up the frozen pouch at the grocery store
1/2 C butter, melted
1/2 C corn meal
1 C crushed brown rice cereal
2 TBSP brown rice flour
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

If fish is frozen, defrost until soft enough to cut. (I liked having it still partially frozen. It was easier to cut into strips.)  Preheat oven to 475*F. Cut fish fillets into 3/4 inch strips that are 4 or 5 inches long (think fish stick sized.)

Combine the cornmeal, cereal, brown rice flour, and seasonings in a shallow pie pan. Dip each fish strip into the melted butter, then coat evenly in the cornmeal mixture. Place on a greased baking sheet and repeat for all the other strips.

Place in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until the fish stick is flaky. Serve immediately, or freeze in a freezer bag to reheat later for a quick meal.
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I hope your family enjoys this g-free, healthy alternative to regular old fish sticks!

A Day at the Zoo

Last week for LBB's preschool, we focused on learning all about the farm. :) LBB had a blast all week...he made animal noises, played with tractors, actually did some of his worksheets, and seemed to have a toy farm animal in hand nearly everywhere he went.

To top it all off, we took a field trip to the zoo and their farm. And since it is Springtime, the farm was bustling with farm babies. What fun! LBB and I went with my Mom, and the three of us had a wonderful day. He got to see a cow milking demonstration, took a ride on the zoo train, and even got to watch the dolphin show! What a very wonderful adventure!

Beautiful American Cream Draft Horse

This badger was a bit of a ham.

Leopard Paw

Love this cool sheep!

Tom the Turkey, strutting his stuff.

Ah, so pretty.

Looking at a hedgehog with GiGi

Telling the calf a story. :)

Last week was such a successful week school wise, and this week? Complete opposite. When LBB gets set, or not set in this case, on doing something, he. Is. Not. Doing. It.

Sigh.

Our theme this week is fine art, which I thought he'd get a big kick out of. After all, art? All week? Well that seems fun. Oh sure. It'd be fun...if you weren't an obstinate 2 year old. :) But, such is life. He is still little, so if there are a few days where he wants to learn through imaginative play instead of what Mommy has planned, that's ok. Soon enough it will be time for him to focus on his required schoolwork, but until then, I'm just going to enjoy each day, no matter what. :)

That's the beauty of starting homeschooling at such a young age. We get to enjoy the lazy days and the field trip days without any worries about missing something.

After all, to a 2 year old, the WHOLE  world is a classroom. :) I think that's how it should be for every age.