Saturday, September 19, 2009

Appliqued Bibs

I think I've purchased just about every bib ever manufactured and sold in the Northern Hemisphere. Oh, what the heck, throw in the Southern Hemisphere too. What good is exaggerating if you can't include the whole planet? I buy them. I try them. The twins annihilate them. I return them. I cry. I suffer from Bib Defeation. If a bib is the right material (washable, absorbent fabric please, with no waterproof backing so I can put it in the dryer please, and by the way, I'd prefer PVC-, BPA-free, thanks) then it's not the right length. Why wear a bib if it only protects the shirt? The pants are just as cute. And goodness knows, if a banana wheel falls on the shirt, it's gonna roll down to the pants. If the bib is the right length (full coverage please, right down to the knees, and way off the shoulders in width, thanks) then it doesn't have the right neck closure (velcro's great but no match for my biblical twins who rent their bibs in anguish when they get... well, anguished (which happens a lot in their dramatic little lives). So while velcro is a no-go, ties are an all out impossibility on a rapidly moving target, so I'll take a combo velcro/hook & eye closure). Uh... Combo velcro/hook & eye neck closure? More on that momentarily. We own some closed-neck bibs, but they are never tight enough around the neck, leaving precious collars dangerously open to blueberry dribble. Plus, our closed-neck bibs are bedecked with licensed characters. Now I love Elmo and Dora as much as the next person but do they have to be everywhere? They're like black holes sucking up every dollar bill in a 1500 mile radius. Anywho, if I'm gonna be so stinkin' picky about it all, why not just make my own bibs and make them to my multitudinous specs? Well, for one, it's much more fun to complain about every bib manufacturururerererer's shortcomings than to actually take matters into my own hands. But then my angel of a mom steps in. She made these. Because she's fantastic and is always helping me out in any way she can. (And also because she'd like to see her grandchildren attend college one day, rather than watch their college funds dwindle away to nothingness in my quest to purchase the perfect bib, thank you very much target.com.) Re-purposing is good for the earth. And it pleases my sensibilities. These are old bath hand towels. There's still lots of good absorbent jobs they could perform; they were just betrayed by fading dyes and tiny patches of threadbare. So why not just cut a neck hole in them and sew on a combo velcro/hook & eye closure? YEAH!! Why not! Thanks MOM!! The velcro is great. It holds the bib in place just fine. But when rending of clothes occurs, you're gonna be singing the praises of that hook & eye. So...why not just have a hook & eye? Well, for one, while that baby is swiveling around like a Tasmanian devil in the high chair, the velcro is nicely holding the bib in place while you hunt around for that eye. Plus, hook & eyes can slip backward, allowing ample opportunity for bib rending.
A few appliques make these old towels into really cute bibs.
We interrupt this blog post to bring you this very important message.
Bug just wrote her first word.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?
I repeat.
BUG WROTE HER FIRST WORD, BABY!
Papa! For Papa Gary, my father in law. I couldn't believe my eyes. I watched her do it while we sounded out the word. I thought she was going to scribble like usual, but then she busted out real letters! After which, I melted onto the floor into a shimmering pool of Proud. Then I reformed back into solid human form and told Bug how amazing she was. Then I melted again.
Now back to your regularly scheduled blog.
Bibs. Let's recap the situation. I love these bibs. They cover every inch of the front side of a baby. They absorb spills. (Spills? That sounds so nice, like a commercial. The scenario I'm referring to is something like: "I'm gonna smash this avocado all over my body until it finds my mouth"). I can treat them like dirty old threadbare towels in the laundry. I didn't buy a new bib at the store. I re-purposed an old item saving it from the landfill. It's worth repeating: I love these bibs! And my Mom.
Monkey recap:
Big ole rusty, trusty work-truck recap: Cupcakes and strawberries for the softer sided twin:
To be fair, here's the cupcake recap:
Strawberry recap:
And here we have the bibs in action (Dee, my gentle little lady. And Bex, yes, you are king of the high chair):
Roger that.
Elle Bee
P.S. I hope to post a biblical rending of the bibs video someday. If anyone has any idea what I'm talking about, let me know in comments. I'll feel less like a lone Fruit Loop in a milky sea of smart multigrain Cheerios.
Post post script. To all my followers, commenters and lurkers-Thank you!
I love words. (Except for the one I told Jana. And a few others I can't remember right now, but I'll be sure to diligently report to Jana as soon as I do, for I'm quite certain she's waiting with bated breath). For instance, the other day, Debbie said "recalcitrant". Pioneer Woman said "dejected". Relyn said "complacencies". Fantastic words, all! Some of my favorites are tempest, pulchritudinous, inadvertently, sanction, repose, succor and so many others. Aren't they lovely the way they sound? I even love the way they look typed. I love to put words together into sentences, which is part of the reason I blog. The fact that you read my words, undeterred by the reckless, haphazard sentences, , the alarming disregard for grammar rules, and the on-again-off-again relationship I have with topic monogamy, it tickles me to no end. Thank you!
Post post post script. And thanks for saying sweet things about my kids too (who are the other reason I blog).

29 comments:

Jana said...

Geez I love you, even when you attack me with the bad word on my blog, I am so proud of Bug, I melted too...What a smart girl!! the bibs are amazing!!! I hope when we have our next baby we can whip up some of those!!! I have friends I should make some for now!!! Speaking of words, I think we were separated at birth, I am always explaining relative roots and the origin of the alphabet, I really want to be a linguistic anthropologist, sounds like its up your alley too!!

blushing rose said...

Frame that word ... how cute. The bibs are creative & a neat idea.
The wee ones are darling. Have a great weekend. TTFN ~ Marydon

Elle Bee said...

Jana, you said "relative roots", "origin of the alphabet" and "linguistic anthropologist". Are you speaking in English? Can you come back and say, like, "cat" or something to confirm?
Thanks.

No really, I don't know about those things but now I really wish I did! You are right--they do sound right up my alley. I have to go read about them now. Thanks for the inspiration!

Elle

InWeighOverMyHead said...

I LOVE those!!!!! What a great idea!!!!

Meghan said...

You are too smart! We've just resorted to eating with no shirts on at our house. Well, the kids have, Bobby and I usually don't spill too much. :)

Debbie said...

Ah pulchritudinous, it is one of my favorites. As are synonymous, splendid, sumptuous.....

Buckeroomama said...

I love the idea of re-purposing. When I do that, I somehow feel that I am being a good "earth citizen." :) Love your bibs!

(P.S. If you come here, I WILL make you sushi! I promise.)

Flat Creek Farm said...

Yay, Bug! The child is a genius, I say.. and I mean that. And a beauty. Did I mention that? And, of course, the twins are soooo adorable. Love those bibs!!! -Tammy

Christina said...

That is too smart!
I love words, too. (Without them, I could not say how much I like your blog, and tell you how funny you are.) And if you use the really big ones after a certain time (say, 9 pm), you get extra points. Or after spending any number of hours in a row with your kids, while NOT seeing other grown-ups. And if you have twins, or other multiples, then the points increase accordingly.

Unknown said...

Your mom did a great job of re-purposing the bibs. It makes so much sense. I used a big that was similar for my first baby. The neckline was made of stretch t-shirt material so that way, I didn't have to worry much about cutting an attachment for it.

Yay, Bug! Good for her for sounding it out and spelling it.

Salitype said...

the bibs are cool. why haven't i thought of that before...you really is one cool mummy!

i shall bear the lesson i learned today for future disposal, homemade bibs..we are doing our planet a favor re-using stuff.well done you!

oh! and congrats to bug! oh! the grand dad must be beaming ear to ear!!!

have a lovely weekend!

CottageGirl said...

Elle!
You are sitting on a gold mine, I tell you! A gold mine!

Being a grandmother of 3.3 grandchildren, I know of what you speak!

Those cute little bibs hardly cover anything but the neck are useless! And the velcro closures provide hours of fun for the baby who has learned to just yank the bib off with one fell swoop!

I love that they are also recycled ... and embroidered!!

Your mom is one smart cookie! Now I know where you get your talents from get your talents from!

BUG!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness! You have a little Mensa candidate there! I've seen children twice her age not write as well!

It's a red-letter day! Glad you got to chronicle it!

CottageGirl said...

Sorry about all of the typos! Sheesh! I guess I can't write too well at 4 in the morning!

Unknown said...

Forgive me but I must say those bibs are absolutely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and so are those kids! : )
Be well! Andrea

Marisa @ Getting Back To Basics said...

Thanks for the great bib tip. My daycare kids go through a lot of them and the too are constantly yanking them off. This is a perfect solution.

Unknown said...

What cutie pies you have!!! I miss having babies in the house :( My youngest is four. Those bibs are wonderful!!!!!! I wish I would have had those, I totally know what you mean about the store bought bibs!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog :)
Hugs,
Amy

cherie said...

what grammatical error? elle, some people i know who try so hard still DON'T get it! (i see them all over my new blogger friends' pages.)


anyway. your mom is wonderful - hi, mom! lovely family post again, as usual, elle! you outdo yourself everytime! hugs to bugaboo and the twins!!

Heart2Heart said...

Elle,

These are fantastic, especially when you took a picture of them on the twins! Now I can see how efficient that is. You just never know, you may have invented the next big thing. No one knows kids like moms do.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

teamkyte said...

Where do you find the time????
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cupcake one - adorable!

Angelita said...

Wow! That's so amazing of you. I love it, it's so cute. I admire you Elle.

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

Elle,

Oh how proud you must be of Bug! I remember when my kids did that for the first time...I couldn't believe my eyes! It's such a proud moment!

You've got a pretty smart mom there...love that idea and they're SO cute!

Glad you like your peg board too!

Have a great evening!
Tammy

McVal said...

My favorites were the towel ones with loose ribbing around the neck (kind of like a turtleneck) that you could just pull over their heads easily. The velcro always got stuck on stuff in the wash for me...
I've tagged you on my blog for an award!

Bentley Boutique said...

How cute those bibs are! And practical, to say the least. Congrats to Bug:)

WhiteStone said...

Great bibs! We have a new grandson soon to arrive. These would be perfect to hand to Mom.

Joy ~ Doodlebug ~ said...

Ms. Bee, you're such a great writer! You should write a childrens' book! I enjoyed that post! I love the bibs! They're adorable! And so are the twins!

Love, Joy =D

Momma Chae said...

What a great idea! I had seen those bibs before, but had never seen anyone make them look cute! :)

Genevieve said...

Sorry it took so long to reply to your comment- things have been crazy over here. So, tomorrow we fly to London and then we go to Paris, Venice, Rome and then New York!

Jackie said...

I know you are so proud of Bug...that word is precious! The bibs are too.

Have a good evening.

Jackie

Dandy said...

OMG she wrote her first word!! That is so sweet.

And I love those bibs, love them.

pulchritudinous? I had to google that Elle. I didn't know what it meant and I had to google. I think I may need to go back to school.