The Tale of the Recycled Pajama Pants

Once upon a time, like way back in college, I had a pair of pajama pants. They were nothing special -- just cotton PJ bottoms from Old Navy -- but I loved them. I loved the colors, I loved how comfortable they were and I loved that I could wear them year-round (they kept me warm in the winter and cool in the summer). I remember wearing those pants and watching movies in my dorm room on my sorority hall. I remember wearing those pants and eating ice cream late one night with all my roommates at my college apartment. I remember packing those pants and taking them on my honeymoon (Neil was thrilled). Those pants and I have logged a lot of miles and a lot of memories. Plus, they'd been washed just enough times that the cotton was good and worn in and super soft. They were my go-to pjs and I have worn them A LOT for many years. Behold, the PERFECT pair of pajama pants:

But, sadly, just like everything else, those pants couldn't live forever. For one thing, they had become thread-bare beyond repair in the seat and crotch (I've literally worn them out) and, well, they aren't exactly as comfortable as they once were (they are, ahem, a bit snug). Because of their condition, I couldn't donate them to the thrift store or hand them down to someone else. On the way to the trash can, I decided the best option would probably be to just cut them up and use the fabric for cleaning rags. At least I'd have something colorful to dust with. But the thought was just unsettling for me. That is not how a great pair of PJs should go out. And then I was struck with a thought: what if I did cut them up but instead of rags, what if I cut them down into pajama pants for Margie Grace. I was sure that by cutting them up the inseam and opening out the legs, I'd have just enough fabric to make MG her own pair of special PJ pants! I thought the idea was genius so I got to work, laying the pants on the floor and cutting them into a new creation.

Now here's a bit of a side story to this whole pajama rebirth. In early December, Margie Grace's preschool is having a "Pajama Day" where everyone wears their favorite PJs to school. It has been on my mind exactly what to dress her in that day because I've felt like she doesn't have any PJs that are extra special enough to wear to school. I buy the lion's share of her pajamas at our semi-annual consignment sale where I can get about two weeks worth of PJs for the price of two or three pair at Target or Wal-Mart. They are fine pajamas for around the house but I wanted her to have something a little nicer and a little more special for school. A new pair just wasn't in the budget for us (the financial belt is tighter these days since I've gone to part-time) plus I couldn't justify buying a new pair when she's getting a brand new pair for Christmas (holla if that's your family's Christmas Eve tradition, too!) So, the idea to remake my old pants into something new for her couldn't have come at a more opportune time. Behold the pajamas reborn:

I was so clever, I cut the new pants out using the bottom edge of the old pants so that I didn't even have to hem them. I had some red ric rac in my box of leftover trim that I used to spiff up the bottom cuff and cute them up a bit (nothing makes me think of fun kids' clothes like ric rac!) I got a red T-shirt at Wal-Mart for $3.50 and appliqued an "M" on it using some of the leftover fabric from the pants. I just love the way the whole set turned out and I couldn't be happier that my old pants got a new makeover -- spared from the trash and reborn into something Margie Grace can use. Plus, she really got a kick out of the fact that those used to be my old pants! She doesn't know this but I added extra fabric to the waistband so in the next couple of years, I can let it out and she's got room to grow. Unfortunately, I don't think these pants will be with her through college. But, hey, they've had a good run!

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Fun Stripes

Margie Grace loves to wear dresses to school. But on Tuesdays she stays after school for gymnastics so she has to wear pants, especially something comfortable that she can move around easily in, because she doesn't get a chance to change between preschool and tumbling class. So earlier this fall I picked up a handful of Garanimals T-shirts at Wal-Mart with the goal of making cute little outfits by putting an applique or monogram on the shirts and making her a matching pair of pants for each. Monday night I finally finished the first set (any spare time that I had for sewing in October was spent making a Little Mermaid costume! So, I'm a little behind . . .). I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I found the perfect purse applique to tie the outfit together. When I was done, I thought it was still missing something so I riffled through my ribbon drawer and found just enough of my scraps to make a precious matching bow. I'm really pleased with how the outfit turned out and Margie Grace really loved her new purse outfit. Now I've got until next Tuesday to make another set!

Busy Friday

A picture for Bebe (and cousin Rachel) in front of the Theta float

I had to stop this group of Alpha Chis and introduced them to their star pledge of 2025! :)

MG and Bebe checking out the back of the AKL float (Uncle John's handiwork).

MG in front of Uncle John's float

Poppy gave MG the best view for parade watching!

Just like most weekends during football season, this past one was filled with fun and activities. This past Friday was a particularly busy but fun day for us. It started on a somewhat unpleasant note. Margie Grace had an appointment at the pediatrician's office to get her seasonal flu shot. While we were there, the nurse went ahead and gave her the H1N1 vaccination as well -- a two for one opportunity that MG wasn't too thrilled about. I talked to her in advance about the shot and what was going to happen -- I wanted to be up front -- but, even as brave as she is, it still hurt and she still cried. The big Dora sticker she got from the nurse did help soften the blow a bit, though. And, I reminded her of our post-shot plans and she quickly dried her tears. From the doctor's office, we grabbed a Happy Meal and headed to the park for a picnic lunch and play time with our moms group from church. A friend of mine in our Sunday School class has started planning casual weekly get-togethers for the other SAHMs or part-timers like me to get the kids together for playtime. Margie Grace loves playing with the other kids and I've enjoyed getting to know some of the other moms from church. We stayed at the park for over an hour and then went home to rest up with a nap before the evening schedule commenced. After nap and a quick snack, we met up with Neil and went to campus for the homecoming parade. MG's Uncle John was in charge of building his fraternity's float so we wanted to be sure and check it out. (Cuz we didn't see him for like a week as a result.) We found John's float, looked at all the others, saw Aubie and watched the "parade" -- Aubie, cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, the women's basketball team (random?) and a massive herd of sorority girls -- march on by. We then loaded up, left campus and made it to our last stop of the night. One of MG's friends was having a campfire cookout birthday party so we closed the day out with a weenie roast and s'mores! It was a very eventful and fun day!

Halloween Fun

It seems like we celebrated Halloween and related festivities for about a week or so. It started with our trip to the pumpkin patch, which has become one of my favorite family traditions. We visit the same patch each year and it has been fun to watch Margie Grace experience it in different ways from year to year. This year she spent a lot of time searching for "my very own special pumpkin." She could not be talked into anything. She definitely wanted to pick one for herself and she did a great job! A few nights before Halloween, she and Neil carved it. He let her pick out the design and she actually got to be a little more hands-on with it this year instead of just watching. I thought she would be grossed out by the pumpkin "innards" but she loved putting her hand inside and pulling out the pulp.

Then, last Saturday, Neil and I got to take our turn at dressing up at our friends the Dixons' annual Halloween party. I always enjoy seeing what other couples come up with for costumes and how creative everyone is! Luckily, we were able to borrow both of our costumes from my brother John and we wound up winning the prize for "Best Costume!" I went as a Saguaro cactus (aka a green sweatsuit with pieces of weedeater line hot glued to it) and Neil went as a Mexican Senor. I can't take credit for the cactus idea. John came up with it in high school for a Homecoming week theme day and I think it is just genius!!

Margie Grace got her turn to dress up for her preschool class party on Thursday. She wore her Little Mermaid costume to school and looked so cute! I came for her party and she had a great time celebrating with her friends. Then, that night (for some reason the city of Auburn decided that everyone should trick-or-treat on Thursday, Oct. 29 -- I guess high school and college football truly rule around here) we headed over to the Auburn campus for more Halloween celebrations. All the student organizations on campus set up little booths with games and prizes, which MG really enjoyed. Then all the dorms are open for trick or treating. We had fun walking throughout the quad to the different dorms. MG got a lot of sweet compliments on her outfit from all the college students. And she LOVED going around and collecting all that candy. After trick or treating on campus, we made some special stops in town to visit with family and friends before heading home to bed! When we finally got in, Margie Grace dumped out her pumpkin and began to survey her loot. She was really impressed with her take and began to categorize the candy and count it (which impressed me!). ("Look, Mom, I have three of these and two of these.") We've been rationing out the sweets ever since and I'm sure if you ask her, MG will tell you Halloween is her favorite holiday!

I've taken tons of pictures over the last week or so. To see more, visit here.

Spirit Day

Sweet friends: Lily and Margie Grace

Aubie, Mrs. Kim (Margie Grace's teacher) and MG

Getting ready for "Two Bits"
I'm proud to say she knows the whole cheer and all the words to "War Eagle" -- this girl is being raised right :)

Posing with the cheerleaders

Last week Margie Grace's school celebrated Spirit Day. Everyone wore their favorite team colors (orange and blue, of course!) and they ended the day with a pep rally and visit from the Auburn University cheerleaders, Tiger Paws dance team and Aubie! After the pep rally, each class got to go up and have their picture made with the whole AU group. The day before, we were talking to MG about seeing the cheerleaders and Aubie at her school and she asked if she could give them all a big hug. When it came time to walk the walk, though, she was a little more cautious. She did hug the cheerleaders but she decided in the end only to give Aubie a little pat on the head! She had a great time cheering, dancing around and yelling "War Eagle!" (and admiring Aubie from afar!)

**For my sewing buddies -- I made MG's outfit by altering Martha Pullen's A-line jumper pattern and making the pants from this Jackie Clark pattern (so simple and cute!). I found that adorable cheerleader embroidery design for free here. The material is from my stash but originally came from Hancock's (I knew two yards of orange and white pin stripe would come in handy one day!). Gotta love it when a super cute outfit comes together so easily :)

Fit for a Fairy Princess

Margie Grace blowing out her candles

She couldn't wait for her friends to sing "Happy Birthday!"

Friends jumping in the bounce house

Margie Grace and her friend Lily "flying around" as fairy princesses!

Margie Grace decorating her crown

On the occassion of her third birthday, Margie Grace celebrated in style with a fairy princess party. This is the first year that we've had a party where we've invited friends -- we usually just celebrate with family -- and I think everyone had a great time! All the girls got fairy wings and wands (gotta love the dollar tree!) upon arrival and then decorated pink foam crowns to complete their fairy princess outfits. After briefly "flying around" on the deck, they were ready to hit the purple castle bounce house set up in the backyard. Margie Grace's dad and Poppy built her a new swingset for her birthday so she was excited to also share this with her friends. We capped everything off with a purple castle cake to match the purple castle bouncer. She is still talking about her birthday party so I know she had a lot of fun!

**Special thanks to Aunt Laura for driving all the way from Tennessee to help Margie Grace celebrate and for bringing MG her very own specially adorned blue birthday-girl fairy wings!! They were a BIG hit!

She's 3!

October 6 is -- and always will be -- a special day at our house! It is Margie Grace's birthday. It seems like it was literally yesterday that I was writing this post and taking these pictures. Another year has passed and she has changed so much! For the sake of documenting, here's what she's into these days. Her favorite color is blue and she always chooses anything based on its color (and always the blue one!). Her favorite movie of the moment is Peter Pan but this is subject to change (weekly, daily, even hourly). She loves to say that things are "awesome" and "delicious!" She is a voracious reader and loves books. We read several at naptime and bedtime each night. She also loves it when you tell her a story and she is always requesting a story-telling session. She can get herself dressed totally by herself (although some garments need assistance like those pesky bouses that button in the back). She loves taking a bath, playing dress up and caring for her many baby dolls. She is quite the little mother! And she is very fond of the Disney princesses, specifically Cinderella and Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Since she has started school in August, I have noticed how many people (both at preschool and church) tell me what a sweet child she is. I think this is perhaps the best thing to hear as a parent -- especially when you hear that 2 and 3 can be such challenging ages behavior-wise. I love that she is kind and sweet to others. (She loves to give hugs too and gives the world's best!) She is a very gentle and loving child who is sympathetic toward other people and I hope these are qualities she carries with her all the way into adulthood. She does have her moments -- nobody is perfect, even in the blogosphere :) -- but for the most part, she always has a sunny disposition and a very optimistic outlook on life.

Back to her birthday -- I can't believe she's already 3! A couple of nights ago Neil said "Can you believe we have a kid?!?" To which I answered, "Where have you been for the past three years?!?" But I know what he was meaning. Time is fleeting and she is already growing up so fast before our eyes! I don't think I'm going to tell him that she asked me just the other day if she could get married when she grows up. I told her to ask her daddy :) I remember being very pregnant (and in hindsight only a few days away from delivering MG) when I heard this song on the radio. Knowing I was about to have a little girl, it was particularly meaningful to me. Every time I hear it now, I always think of Margie Grace because I think it fits her perfectly. She is lovely, she's heaven-sent and everyday I know she is a blessing from God. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!