The Sewing Mom

I am leaving town on Thursday to meet up with my sisters and mom in Cincinnati. We are attending the International Quilt Festival there over the weekend and I just feel like I haven’t even begun to get myself ready to go!

I did get the taxes almost finished, just have to e-file. Got the bills paid ahead, no problem. I haven’t done any laundry, haven’t finished making my ipad case and have no idea what clothes I’m taking. I’m limiting myself to a carry on bag because I refuse to pay baggage fees, so I best check the weather and I hope I don’t need heavy clothes!

So, I won’t be online much over the next several days. I don’t have a laptop and not sure how much time I’d have anyway, I plan to do a ton of visiting with my family!

Being the mom of a teenager has become probably the most trying time in my entire life. Every day is a new challenge and I never know what each new day will bring.

The thing I find the absolute most challenging? The mood swings. For example, when my daughter & I said good night to each other last night, all was right with the world. We had survived all the tornadoes coming through the DFW area, we’d eaten a lovely dinner that we had cooked together, we’d watched a little t.v. together as a family, and she’d even gotten her homework done. Lights out with a smile.

This morning? All I can say is, WTH happened between the last time I saw her last night and this morning? She’s not talking to me, I got glared at several times, and I received the silent treatment all the way to school.

The only thing I can say is, “Dear Lord, please give me the strength I need to get through it!”

I machine pieced this quilt from pink & green fabrics with the center piece being the Breast Cancer ribbon fabric. My sister Karen did the quilting on my mom’s longarm machine and then I finished it by putting the binding on by hand.

I am donating this quilt to the high school softball team’s annual Pink Night where it will be auctioned off and the funds raised donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for research in finding a cure.

16 years ago today, my daughter was born. Honestly, no parent could ask for a more precious gift than what I received in her. I love her and am so very proud of her. Happy Sweet 16!

If you are the parent of a teenager, you can probably relate to this. If you are the parent of a teenager who is learning to drive, you can probably relate to this even more.

Teenagers are EXPENSIVE!

Our daughter will be driving on her own soon (as soon as we can find time for her to schedule her driving test) so we purchased a 3rd vehicle. My husband and I brought it home on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, my daughter drove it to her softball game with me in the passenger seat and my husband in the back seat. She parked the car.

Because she had parked in between 2 very large SUV’s, we recommended she back out and find a different spot that would cause the car to be less likely to get a door ding. She promptly put the car in reverse, backed out about 2 feet, and we immediately looked in horror as the front lower bumper lay lifelessly on the sidewalk in front of the car. Yep, the car was now without bumper.

Today my husband & I took the car in to get an estimate on having the bumper repaired. Well, it also took out the under carriage safety shield which protects all things underneath the car, so that will also have to be replaced. All totaled, it’s going to be close to $800.

I have to say, I’m just glad my husband was in the car when it all happened because he wouldn’t have believed that our daughter actually did nothing wrong to cause this huge expense. This is a used car and we knew a corner of the bumper was loose when we bought it. We just didn’t know we were going to have to get it repaired so soon after buying the car.

Oh well, the trials & tribulations of being a parent to a teenager, they really are expensive!