Little Man's Birthday gifts! And reflections on motherhood!

I'm getting there.   Another thing marked off my list.  These jeans shorts are for Little Man's first birthday!!  How can it be that a whole year has already gone by? I used Butterick 6894.  

Well, I sort of used it.  I made the side pockets the way jeans' pockets are made.  I also made back pockets.  I added belt loops, as well.  I did the double stitched seams except on the side seams.  I did French seams there.  

Notice the two different styles of back pockets.  On the first try, I had them too high, too close to the waist band.  So, I took them off and before I sewed them back on in a lower position I added more decorative stitching.  Since his mom and dad sometimes call him Little Man, I made and L and an M.  The left and bottom lines make the L.  Both sides and the dip in the middle make the M.  I guess this is corny, but I did it anyway.

I also made him another pair of shorts with a shirt to match.  I used the Butterick pattern for these shorts, pretty much by the pattern directions.  Then I made the shirt by the Simplicity 2627 pattern shown here.  I made the boys' view A, the plaid shirt.  

As you see, I only made the front yoke from the plaid.  I top stitched the collar, sleeves under the yoke, and the hem with the stretch triple straight stitch on my machine because I wanted the topstitching to really show up well.  I used this stitch on the jeans shorts, too. 

 As you know, if you've been following my blog, I like finished insides so I finished the seams of the shirt by trimming one side of the seam allowance very close to the stitching and double folding the other side over it and stitching next to the seam.  Does this make sense?  There is a name for this type of seam finish,but I can't think what it's called.  It almost looks like a French seam when it's finished.  I used French seams in the shorts.

On Another Note - Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms and grandmoms out there.

• Remember when your child was first born, and he/she needed you for EVERYTHING?  You felt like you would never get any sleep again, or have any "ME" time again.
• Then he/she hit two years and everything was either "NO!" or "Me Do It!"  This child, all of a sudden, wanted to be INDEPENDENT, but as you knew he/she wasn't.  There were still diapers to change, toys to put away, boo-boos to kiss away, etc....
• Then there were years three and four, which went by WAY TOO FAST!!  Your child could really do some things like dress him/herself, well sort of, and feed him/herself without TOO much mess.  Diapers were no longer needed.  Whew!
• Then five came along and he/she started Kindergarten!  How did that happen?  Now, you were no longer THE smartest grown-up in your child's life.  The TEACHER was!  Ouch!
• Then 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10!  All these years went so fast.  There were t-ball games, dance lessons, soccer, swimming lessons, maybe piano lessons, and church choir practice.  Scouts, gymnastics, HOMEWORK!!! and school projects.  There were school plays to attend, etc................
• OH NO! now your child hit 11, 12, and 13.  Who was this person in your child's body?  Did some extraterrestrial take over?  This child was an exaggerated TERRIBLE TWO!  He/she thought that he/she was all grown-up and could or should be allowed to DO EVERYTHING because EVERYBODY ELSES' moms and dads let them!!  "EVERYONE" had a cell phone, an ipod, a computer, a flat screen tv in their room, etc.................  He/she had to have the WHATEVER label clothing was IN at the moment. According to him/her your main purpose in life must have been to embarrass him/her!!  You did it well!  But, when it came to stuff like homework, or hurt feelings, etc... mom was still needed.  (I know these things because I taught 11 and 12 year old for nearly 20 years!  Even though my girls went through some of this stuff, they weren't nearly as bad as most. I was a pro at embarrassing them, however!)
• HIGH SCHOOL - seriously, you weren't old enough to have a kid in high school!   Talk about homework!!   It was endless.  There were boyfriends and girlfriends.  Of course, those have been in his/her life since at least kindergarten, but now it was different.  Girls wanted to go out with boys who can DRIVE!!  Boys were not ready for the girls who were lurking around every corner.  
• 16! Driver's Licenses, real dating,  part time jobs, and looking at colleges!!
• Then came senior year!!  Where had the time gone?  Where was your little baby boy/girl?  Yet, weren't you proud that he/she turned out so well, despite YOU?  
• Off to college.  If you were lucky he/she went somewhere close to home.  Most of the calls home were to tell you how much books and supplies cost, that the food card is out of money, that there is a formal event that calls for a new gown or tux.  Then there are the calls about speeding tickets, car accidents, etc....  Then there is the announcement that he/she had met the ONE that was meant for them and that wedding plans needed to be made.
• After college: marriage, first homes, grand babies.  Life came back around in a circle.  Did you ever get any "ME" time again?  What's "ME" time?