CHRISTEPHI

Hubby asked me to make gifts for the two first-time mamas who work in his department. Both are having boys, so I settled on a cheerful bunting or coverall or snowsuit...whatever you want to call it. I used the "Corduroy baby coverall" pattern from Ottobre 6/2007 (#10, size 62).  I followed the pattern for the most part, with just a few minor changes -- like snaps instead of buttons up the front, and making the bird an applique rather than a 3D stuffed critter.  Oh, and I made the pacifier tether with a snap on the end rather than one big loop that could prove to be a strangulation hazard. The shell is soft baby wale corduroy I picked out at JoAnn specifically for this project.  The lining is organic cotton sweater knit from Fabric.com that I had leftover from some clothes I made for Miss M.  I ended up using every last bit of it!  It's very, very soft and snuggly!  I got the blue, red, and orange ribbons at Hobby Lobby, using  scrap of the corduroy to match polka-

Sometimes the house is such a mess it's hard to know where to start.  Sometimes I want to bury my head in a pillow and hope the mess goes away on its own.  Sometimes I do...but it never does.  I've figured out a few mind games to play with myself that have been quite effective. First, don't let Tuesday off the hook.  Tuesday likes you to think it's an unimportant beginning-of-the-week kind of day.  There's a whisper in your ear, "It's just Tuesday, you have plenty of time before Friday."  But somehow, it jumps from Tuesday to Thursday in the blink of an eye and that means Friday is the next day!  I have learned that Tuesday is pivotal.  If I slack off on Tuesday, I'll regret it on Thursday and Friday.  If I banish much of my To Do list on Tuesday, the rest of my week flows much more smoothly! Second, set the timer.  Maybe I just work well under pressure, but it seems if I ask myself, "How much can you do in an hour?" and then set the

My mama sweeps the floor. My mama carries cookies on a tray. My mama irons a dress. My mama puts the baby to sleep. And that is how Miss M answers the question, "What does your mama do?"