Wednesday, March 4, 2009

After

Thank you everyone for your well wishes. Fortunately, last Friday's paycheck wasn't the last...but we're starting to deal with the reality of a job search. I'm hoping we can use this time to really look at our priorities--not just in terms of money, but in how we define "lifestyle." I'm finding that all the plans I had as recently as last weekend all fall into the category of "before," and now we're living in "after." "After" is going to take a little getting used to.

But while we're adjusting, we're still preparing for a birthday party in eight short days, so there's lots of crafting to help me keep my focus. Let's get to the good stuff, shall we?

Last Saturday, Bobby had a birthday party. After racking my brain, I came up with this, a Birthday Bucket o'Fun, I call it:


It's a fabric bucket with one handle--you can hang it on a doorknob. And ten beanbags for chucking into the bucket. Then I made a Tic Tac Toe mat to use with the beanbags.
Doing the stenciling for these letters took way longer than I wanted to spend on this project. It's the one thing that may keep me from making this again--unless I give myself more than one day to work on it. I hope the kid likes it. I was quite in love with it myself.
Here is my sweater! It's going to be a hoodie. The hood comes after the sleeves. This has taken forever, but I can guarantee I'll wear it until it falls apart because I've put so much work into it.
Obligatory birthday cake shot. In the end, some of the extra people didn't come. And the New Jersey folks were a little nervous about the drive back because of the snowstorm. They drove into it on their way home, but all got home safely. It was nice to visit.


And now I must focus on Caitlin's party. It's set for the 14th. Our theme is Fairy Wonderland, and here's the lovely parting gift for the guests--fairy skirts. I ordered tulle from fabric.com and ribbon from Oriental Trading. I filled the skirts with flowers from leis. They've been pretty easy to make. We're also going to decorate fairy wings, so there's going to be lots of cuteness.
One of the bonuses of this whole no-more-job thing is that Rob has been able to come home for lunch. He's on his way now, so I'd best go enjoy his company!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Transitions and the unknowns are hard - we've been there too. Glad you had a good visit, and getting ready for that fairy party looks like a ton of fun :)

Amy said...

Oh Fairy Skirts! Taking that idea down for future parties..Zoe's party ( in a few weeks) is going to be pink pink pink...per her request!

Anonymous said...

My family has been there with the job loss (two layoff's over a 5 year period). I can completely understand the anxiety it can cause. You are right to use this time to spend with your family focusing on priorities. Also, its nice to have hubby home...it'll bring you closer as a family unit. Good luck with everything.