I was motoring along at the gym there for a few weeks, actually getting into the rhythm of it and enjoying the little high that comes afterward, when we had a little setback. When I'm working out, the kids are in the gym's daycare. There are some lovely ladies that work in the daycare, but a one to ten ratio with kids aged six months and up is hardly ideal. At least my kids are older and able to fend for themselves for an hour, right? Right. Until some (damn) "big kid" called Olivia a "turkeybutt." She didn't seem too upset at the time, but it haunted her. The next time we went back to the gym she cried and cried and didn't want me to leave her. It took a while to calm her down and I eventually was able to go, but the next time was worse and then she began crying at even the mention of the gym. After playing with friends or at the park, she still comments, in a surprised sort of way, "They didn't call me turkeybutt, Mommy; they called me Olivia." Poor girl.
No, she hasn't seen that boy again. And yes, we have talked about strategies for dealing with name-calling (like saying sternly, "Don't call me that! My name is Olivia!"). We've gone with friends and never even tried to go without Liam, but she's still scared to go back and I don't know what else to do. Any ideas? Please?
In other news, a week or so ago I took my sewing machine over to my friend Allison's house and she walked me through this skirt:
It's a simple a-line skirt with a muslin lining (which makes it seem oh so fancy) made with Amy Butler's Barcelona Skirt pattern. The tricky part is the invisible zipper, which I managed to mess up even with Allison's help. It looks lovely on the hanger, all invisible and all, but on ME the poor zipper gets pushed right out of the fabric and I have a lovely white stripe down my butt. So I love the skirt, but it is for wearing with long shirts only.
I've already bought the fabric to make another one, along with an extra zipper for practicing. And then with the scraps I made this little project bag:
That particular pattern is from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing, with which I have many plans. A shirt, a sundress for Olivia, a bag... Lovely book and, thankfully for me, everything is very clearly explained. Despite that, I am lamenting the fact that there is no Ravelry for sewing. All this Googling and Flickring feels soooo 2006.
Poor little Olivia. First thing that pops into my mind is to see the child's mother and explain what happened. Then get the boy to apologise and then perhaps Olivia can tell him how upset it made her. People have to be responsible for hurt feelings no matter how old they are dont they. I hope that the mother would understand that if it were her child upset that she would like the same thing sorted out. Your skirt looks lovely on you, and the fabric is so nice. That little bag looks very nice. I hope Olivia can still smile and tell her that boys arent very nice sometimes, as Isabelle knows with her older brother.
Posted by: sue | March 02, 2009 at 03:47 PM
No words of wisdom from me re: the turkeybutt incident (my years of cat mothering don't help at all), but I do love the skirt! The thought of putting in zippers gives me hives, so I'm impressed that it's in and works. Wearing a long shirt sounds like a fine idea. I'm enjoying the Heather Ross book -- I want to make the big tote bag.
Posted by: Jodi | March 02, 2009 at 04:08 PM
Holy moly - a skirt! And it's so pretty. I love the fabric - and the fabric for #2. :)
It's SNOT fun to run into meanies. Poor Olivia. If I could wish one thing on to my girls, it would be resilience. Or the ability to look for and find things. :)
Posted by: Nadine | March 02, 2009 at 04:14 PM
No words of wisdom on the turkeybutt thing - my boys would have snickered at that kid and sang back at him, "Turkeybutt, turkeybutt, turkeybutt. You called me a Turkeybutt". Boys, I guess. I don't know if I would go looking for the mother - who knows what you might do. :)
LOVE the skirt. Very, very cute. The idea of a zipper frightens me add the word invisible to it and I would have called a seamstress. :) Great sewing.
Posted by: Holly Jo | March 02, 2009 at 04:21 PM
Holy cat, Katherine, that's so awesome! What a cute skirt. White butt stripe or no, that's impressive. I can't even sew buttons on right. (Seriously.)
Posted by: Jody | March 02, 2009 at 07:16 PM
Oh I love that Amy Butler fabric. And what a cute little bag! Maybe I need to make one of those for all my little projects...
Posted by: Stacey | March 03, 2009 at 12:56 AM
Leo got called a name in the nursery by a boy and came home all upset. I told him that children who do that sort of thing will at first grow pig's tails, and then if they continue, they'll grow piggy nose, then ears, and so on until they grow into a full pig. It worked wonders, we had a laugh about it, imagining a boy with a piggy nose, and also Leo then told me (very seriously) that he will ever call anyone names because he doesnt want to grow into a piggy. I guess it is not the most diplomatic solution but hey, it worked. :)
Posted by: Kat | March 03, 2009 at 05:23 AM
What great "piggy" advice! I tend to make light of these things as well, while keeping a close eye. The task is honoring the hurt feelings while not amplifying them. Dear Olivia....Perhaps the gym childcare staff needs a heads up; perhaps the real hurt was not having a grown up advocate to help her through at the time.
And now about that skirt! Well done. Such pretty fabric.
Posted by: Susan Brown | March 03, 2009 at 05:52 AM
I have decided I am not good in the child rearing stuff.....just about to finish with # 3 so that's a good thing!
The skirt is impressive. Reminds me of my first sewing project in grade 7 home ec.....an a line skirt that I replicated and made several times. Of course in those days we HAD to wear skirts or dresses to school....no pants. I remember a protest we did when we all wore pants to school. We were so militant that we took our dresses in our backpack so we could change when the principal had a hissy fit! That's me, rebal at heart....LOL!
Posted by: Mo | March 03, 2009 at 07:33 AM
Kids can be so cruel. And the gentle souls are the ones that get hurt the most. Hard lesson to learn at such a young age. I don't know if I would talk to the mother but perhaps mentioning it to the childcare worker so they could be vigilant for that kind of behaviour and deal with it as it occurs.
I love your skirt. I'm a seamstress and I hate invisible zippers! Unfortunately, practice and only practice is the way to improve the turn out of the next one. Make sure you don't put any tension on the fabric when you're sewing the zipper in. Your fabric is very pretty.
Posted by: Barbara from Nova Scotia | March 03, 2009 at 10:19 AM
Meanie. I don't suppose she knows how to throw a right hook? Kidding. (sort of... :) ) Poor Olivia. I would definitely mention it to the worker, so they are aware of what is going on in the day care.
Your sewing is terrific! I love doing little projects, but the thought of doing a zipper is terrifying. The fabric is so pretty, I just love it!
Posted by: Kristin | March 03, 2009 at 02:16 PM
I'm down with the piggy advice. Hopefully every time she sees him she'll laugh, imagining a piggy tail and nose. Heck, I'm imagining some of my co-workers with piggy noses right now, and I'm giggling!
Skirt - oh my gosh - CUTE! And how appropriate give that it's seventy-freaking-degrees out! Love that fabric!
Posted by: Ella | March 03, 2009 at 03:45 PM