Semi-homemade mom

I made some funny little realizations about myself this week. It started on Saturday when my mom asked us to bring brownies to Sunday dinner. No problem I thought as I tossed a box of brownie mix in the shopping cart. A few aisles down I threw in a box of lasagna flavored Hamburger Helper. It never even occurred to me to open up a recipe book and make the brownies from scratch or to buy noodles and sauce and make a real lasagna. But the real kicker came as I attempted to make curtains for the nursery.

I was hell bent on finding red and white polka dot curtains for the nursery. I'd seen a picture of a nursery with curtains like this a couple of years ago as I was flipping through a nursery decor idea book. I'd purchased it with hopes that someday I'd have the opportunity to decorate a nursery. Also, the pirate bedding we picked out, which is STILL back ordered, has red and white polka dot trim on it. Happy coincidence! Only problem is that red and white polka dot curtains do not exist- ANYWHERE! I've searched every inch of Google and come up empty. So I decided to get fabric and make my own. I have a sewing machine and thought, hey no problem, just a couple of quick seams and I'm all set!

Wrong! You see, sewing seams on anything is impossible if you can't figure out how to set up the damn sewing machine! I have only used my sewing machine a handful of times and every time I do, it takes me about an hour to figure out how to wind the bobbin and thread the needle and how to get the top thread to catch the bottom thread. Usually by the time I actually get to the sewing part I'm so frustrated and tired that I just zoom through the sewing and end up with zig zagging stitches along all my edges. But these curtains are for the baby's room and I wanted them to be just right. I didn't want him to have crappy crooked seams on his curtains.

So I gave up on the sewing machine and switched to my favorite sewing technique- Stitch Witchery. Best.Invention.Ever. I seriously don't know what I'd do without it. Stitch Witchery "sews" everything in this house from hems on pants to pillows to, most recently, baby curtains. Its so easy. You just fold the seam over, press it with the iron and done! So baby's curtains are officially done!

It's funny though, as I was pressing the curtains I was thinking about all the times in the future that I may have to sew and was trying to figure out how I can use Stitch Witchery to make a Halloween costume for Evan. I laughed because it is most likely impossible. But isn't it my duty as a mom to make my child a Halloween costume? My mom made costumes for us! Granted, they were sometimes made out of spray painted trash bags and Styrofoam balls hot glued on florescent visors (we were aliens) but sometimes she broke out the sewing machine and actually sewed us costumes that fit and didn't have zig zag seams. I mean, I guess I could buy a ready made costume from the store, but isn't it more special to have a one of a kind, couture, if you will, costume?

Those thoughts brought me back to the brownie mix in a box and the Hamburger Helper. Does not making baked goods from scratch take away the specialness of the treats? Does using lasagna flavored Hamburger Helper instead of making a real lasagna make it less of a dinner? And does a store bought Halloween costume make Halloween any less fun?

I thought about it and I think no. Because even though those things aren't made "from scratch", you're still putting your love and time into them and that's what makes it all special. I am going to call it Semi-Homemade, like the cooking show. And I think that's the kind of mom I'll most likely be. And I'm perfectly fine with that. I don't think it takes homemade brownies or sewing on a sewing machine to make a moment special, its the actual thought that goes into it and the time spent doing something with your child that makes it an experience he'll remember.

Now I don't expect Evan to remember that his mom made his very first red and white polka dot curtains but I will always remember it as something special I did for him. Even if the seams are ironed and not sewn, I still put my time and love into making something unique just for him. And, they turned out so super cute, if I do say so myself. Take a look: