Mother's Day Musings

Happy Mother's Day, hot mamas!!

Despite the Captain's notable absence, this Mother's Day has been my most lucrative ever! The army sent me a yellow carnation. Firstborn painted me a picture, composed a poem AND made me a coupon book full of all kinds of great services, like making his bed, doing 2 weeks of chores, and "40 blueberries". I have no idea how I'm supposed to cash that last one in. Rosemary's Baby made me a mini pot of foam flowers. The Captain sent me shoes (he knows me so well...) and, because I unfairly assumed none of them would do anything for me, I bought myself an inexpensive-but-lovely sterling silver cocktail ring a while back and hid it on myself until this morning. So I pretty much cleaned up this year! And if that wasn't enough, Firstborn also brought me breakfast in bed! Granted, "breakfast in bed" to a 6 year-old is a handful of soggy bran flakes floating around in a large bowl of skim milk, but it's the thought that counts!

And recently, my blog buddy (and fellow mom) Melanie Jane kindly bestowed this award on me:

Thank you!! We need all the sunshine we can get around here lately!

I promised pictures of my latest sewing projects a few posts back. I didn't forget! I've been working on figuring out the most flattering styles for my body shape, and the most flattering colours for my skin tone. One of the things I've noticed is that a lot of the fabrics I'm drawn to are pastels, which I'm now realizing are not the best colours for me. But waste not, want not! From now on, I will stick to buying reds and blues and blacks and jewel tones, but for now, I wouldn't dream of letting the pretty fabrics that remind me of spring go to waste. Just try not to focus too much on my arms and legs, which are obviously screaming out for artificial tanning products.

First up, we have the blue "tunic":

This was my first attempt at modifying a dress pattern. I made it way too short, so I'll be wearing it with jeans, and a scarf to define where my waist is, since my biggest body issue is my mid-section. Have you ever been asked when your baby is due, but you're not actually pregnant? It's a weekly event for me.

Next is the plaid lavender sheath dress:

This is my second try at modifying that same dress pattern. This time I got it long enough, but decided to go without sleeves. It took this picture for me to realize that my arms may be too beefy to go sleeveless. Live and learn! Again I added a tie to define my skinniest bits and avoid the "bun-in-the-oven" look.

And finally, the yellow butterfly circle skirt:

This is something I've wanted to try for a while. I keep seeing people on Burda making their own circle skirts without a pattern. This skirt turned out alright after a bit of fiddling, but the hem is definitely very uneven, and I think for future reference I'm more of a pattern kind of girl. Eyeballing a circle is a lot harder than you'd think.

As a stay-at-home mom, I've found myself throwing on baggy mom jeans and a shapeless brown fleece more often than I'd like. Having a few things in my closet that up my fabulous factor can be a real mood booster. If you too have this trouble and need some help figuring out your best styles and colours, check out these links:

Cool vs. Warm Skin Tones: It turns out there's a reason people run from me, screaming "BANSHEE! BANSHEE!" when I wear pale yellow next to my face. For the first time in my life, I can truthfully call myself "cool"!

Body Shape: I love Trinny and Susannah, to a point where the Captain has banned me from saying their names in his presence. I highly recommend their books, The Body Shape Bible and What Not to Wear (and no one is paying me to say that). It kills me that I can't channel my inner hippie with a long floaty print dress, but at least now I understand why.

Figuring these two things out might seem like a bit of a frivolous, silly pursuit, but sometimes it's just nice to look great, and knowing what I can and cannot wear successfully has saved me from making a load of expensive mistakes (I consider spending $10 at Wal Mart on something I can't wear an "expensive mistake") while shopping for clothes. When I save money, it means there's more to spend on (or save for) my kids. So technically, frittering your time away on fashion will make you Mother of the Year!

Hope you're all having a fabulous Mother's Day!