DIY Snoopy Costume

Sewing is definitely not one of my strongest skills, but I was pleased with how this home-made Snoopy costume for my husband's work party (his department had a Charlie Brown theme) turned out, especially considering that he only gave me a couple days notice that he wanted something like this. It wasn't really difficult so I think anybody can do this. I started with this basic idea for using a white hooded sweatshirt, which I found on clearance at Old Navy for $10.49 and improved upon it. The only other items I purchased were two pieces of black felt which were 23 cents each at Walmart. I was originally thinking that now that it served its purpose, I would dye the sweatshirt whatever color he chooses, but my mom suggested that we keep it for a Halloween costume, so I may wait a bit before deciding what to do. If I had known I might have wanted this to be permanent, I might have used something like Liquid Stitch to save myself some time.

Materials:

• white hooded sweatshirt
• 2 pieces of black felt 
• white felt
• scissors
• needle
• white thread
• black thread
• hot glue gun (optional)
• 16 gauge craft wire (optional)
• wire cutters (only needed if using craft wire)
• 2 black pipe cleaners (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut the first piece of black felt into a large oval shape. It doesn't have to be perfect. Tip: Save your scraps later. Sew this to the back of the sweatshirt using black thread to make Snoopy's big spot on his back. I am not sure of the name of the stitch (running?) that I used but it was just like those lacing cards from when I was younger. I just did big stitches, about 1" long, and spaced them approximately 1" apart. I wasn't worried about how well it would hold up since I thought it would get worn once and then clipped off so that I could dye the sweatshirt.
2. Fold the second piece of black felt in half like a hamburger. Then, cut out a floppy ear shape. These can be simple ovals, again, or if you want they can be more of a kidney bean shape. Either way, you will end up with two identical ears. Position them how you would like onto the hood of the sweatshirt. Use black thread to stitch them onto the hood.
3. Cut a piece of white felt into a triangle shape, making it as long as you would like Snoopy's tail to be. (The website I found directions on said to use black felt, but my husband said that wasn't right. I checked online and sure enough, his tail is white with a small black spot, not black, if you want to be precise.) I used a length of 16 gauge craft wire that I already had at home, which I cut with wire cutters to help give the tail some shape and make it stick out from the back of the sweatshirt. This is optional, but it looks nice (Plus, Brett says his co-workers really liked it when Snoopy wagged his tail after getting a strike. Their party took place at a bowling alley.) I laid the wire on top of the white felt triangle, stuffed it with some of the extra felt that I had cut, rolled it up into a long, narrow, cone shape, and hot glued it. I tried my best to make the seams end up on the underside of the tail. Then, I covered up what was left of the seam with a black felt spot that I cut out and hot glued to the tail. Lastly, I sewed the tail to the back of the sweatshirt using white thread. Tip: If you don't have craft wire, you can use a wire coat hanger instead. 
4. This last step is optional, but I think it completed the look. Make a collar out of two black pipe cleaners. Fit them around the neck of your Snoopy, and twist them together. If needed, you can trim away the excess. (I also sent him with some black ribbon and black yarn, but this was the collar option he went with since it didn't require any tying, glue, tape, staples, or other work.)
5. Another option I gave him was some black face paint so that he could paint on a Snoopy nose. He chose not to do this since we had a Date Night together that evening. I think that was the right choice, but if you don't have anywhere else to be, it would be a nice finishing touch.

{Snoopy was a hit with our girl, Ritzy!}

In Search of Super Mom

Lately I have been thinking about the ideal of "Super Mom." I wonder if she is really out there or if like Big Foot, she's a fantastic story that few truly believe in. I suppose it's a matter of opinion, depending upon what expectations you hold for the title of "Mom." Here are some ideas I had for myself.

Before I had kids, I wanted to be the mom who baked and decorated all of their birthday cakes instead of buying them from the store. So far, I am 3 for 3. Mia's first two birthdays included cupcakes that I frosted and then displayed on a tiered metal stand. This was fairly simple, but the effect was nice. For her third birthday, I decided on something more elaborate, a three-layer castle cake with ice cream cone towers. My practice cake was a disaster, but miraculously, the actual birthday cake looked wonderful (and was delicious, too!). Of course, the problem now is how to top that? Logan's first birthday is quickly approaching, and I feel the need to make sure his party is as nice as Mia's was! This could be an issue.

Before I had kids, I wanted to be the mom who made all of their Halloween costumes. Brett got me a sewing machine, and I attempted to learn to sew. My sister-in-law kindly spent a LOT of time working with me. I did manage to finish a couple of projects, but I determined that I do not like to sew! As far as making Halloween costumes goes, I am 0 for 4. I didn't feel to badly about buying all of Mia's costumes so far (pumpkin, butterfly, and pink poodle). Logan's first Halloween costume was handed down from his cousins, and he was a darling little sweet pea. I accept the fact that I could never had made anything so cute, anyway.

Before I had kids, I wanted to be the mom who breastfed for at least a year (exclusively for the first 6 months). I succeeded with Mia despite working full-time and frying a couple of AC adapters for my breast pump. Then, at about 23 months, I decided I was done with nursing. Now, Logan is 10 1/2 months and going strong. I am hoping to be able to let him nurse until he decides he is done. We'll see how that goes...

Before I had kids, I wanted to be the mom who made all of her own baby food. I was too overwhelmed as a first-time mom to manage this while working full-time. I feel a bit bad about that since Mia ate that awful jar stuff (although, she never complained)! Once I started making food for Logan, I realized how easy it was. I was sad when he decided he was going to feed himself, and I didn't need to keep making yummy, fresh purees for him. It's so much cheaper, plus he has had a greater variety of foods and everything looks, smells, and tastes more like actual food.

Before I had kids, I wanted to be the mom who does sign language with her baby. It definitely did not happen with Mia. However, she turned out fine! Once she started talking around age 1, she quickly strung words together, and now she is extremely verbal. People comment everywhere we go about how well she speaks, and they are surprised to learn that she is only 3. Logan is very different. He is much more active, although he is becoming more and more vocal. I am considering brushing off this ideal and trying out the sign language with him. Notice I have not committed to it, however.

Before I had kids, I wanted to be the mom who cloth-diapered. I gave up on this idea pretty quickly when considering day cares for Mia. In retrospect, I wish I had checked out the options. I didn't even realize what major improvements they've made to cloth diapers, and now I realize that we could have cloth diapered at home even if we used disposables for day care. I began thinking about this again when I was pregnant with Logan, but I still wasn't sure I could manage it. After 2 months of trying everything else to clear up his diaper rash (he was red everywhere the disposables came in contact with his skin!), we borrowed some cloth diapers from a friend and never looked back. I LOVE our Fuzzi Bunz!

Perhaps the oddest part of all of my expectations for myself as a mom is that I wanted to do all of these things while working full-time. I am finding it is so much easier to be the mom I wanted to be since I am at home with the kids. On the other hand, it makes me want to be that much more of the ideal mom! I have tried to remind myself that there is really no such thing as "Super Mom." There are women who have done all of the things I hoped to do (and perhaps, more), and they are all SUPER. And there are women who have done none of those things, and perhaps, they have found other ways to be SUPER. What I really try to remind myself is that all moms are SUPER just because they are moms. We have to be. Failure is not an option when it comes to our children. The important thing is to recognize success, no matter how small. After all, it's the little things that matter the most.