Channeling my inner Martha
I’ve never really had experience sewing much more than a button or a patch. But now, after boycotting Halloween costumes for my wee one last year, I have decided to go all Martha Stewart and make my daughter’s fright night outfit.
My girl’s going to be a strawberry, wait for it, fresh from Plant City. I’m so excited. I don’t have a pattern, but I do know what a strawberry looks like, and I watch Project Runway every week. How hard can it be to make a 20 month old look cute?
To prepare for my adventure in sewing, I headed out to JoAnn’s for some fabric. I got a yard of red for the berry and a yard of green for the cap. I know I don’t need that much fabric, but I am anticipating messing up.
I explained to the fabric cutter at JoAnn’s that I don’t have a sewing machine – I withheld the part about not knowing how to operate one – and proudly told her I planned to sew the whole thing by hand. How hard can it be?
The clerk took one look at me and told me to get some fabric glue. Hmmmm, WWMD -- What would Martha do? I hesitated but quickly snapped up the glue.
One of my friends reminded me that if all else fails, I can cut a hole in a pillowcase and let my daughter be a ghost.
-- Sherri Day
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
Amy Hollyfield is a workaholic mother of two young
daughters, blessed to have a work-at-home husband who makes their life possible. She was born in Detroit and moved around a lot as a kid (read: Air Force brat). She has lived in Florida since the month after she
graduated from Northwestern University. She lives for the yelps, hugs and kisses that greet her on nights that she makes it home before bedtime.
Sherry Robinson was born in the Sunshine State but she feels more comfortable inside a mall than outside at the beach -- thank goodness her husband is the outdoorsy type. He takes their two sons on night hikes, beach runs and bug hunts while Sherry does her best to take care of the homestead -- and find out what is new on the store shelves. A graduate of the University of South Florida in 19noneofyourbusiness, Sherry has been at the Times for nearly 20 years. And with nearly 10 years of parenting experience, Sherry is eager to offer up some great dish on raising kids and keeping your sanity.
Guest blogger Tracey Henry, a.k.a. Suburban Diva, is a frantic, slightly frazzled mother of four. She is a freelance humor writer and author which is the only thing that parenting four children ages 12-1 trains you for, except perhaps court jester and professional bull rider. She and her husband have lived all over the country, but settled in Florida eight years ago because the beachcombing is so much better here than on the banks of the Mississippi. Their family time includes a lot of sport -- both watching and playing -- and fun in the sun and surf. Catch her in Whoa, Momma! and on her site, 
Sherri Day and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world in early 2008. So far, she describes parenthood as exciting, exhausting and exhilarating. A self-described Southern belle with small-town values and big-city idealism, Sherri was born in rural Georgia. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Clark Atlanta University and her master's of journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She is the Brandon bureau chief for the Times. Sherri moved to Tampa from Brooklyn four years ago.
Oh please, Douglas --- the costume is that of a strawberry, not Martha herself. And by the way, her "crime" really had no victim. Most reasonable people think it was just a bunch of baloney to prosecute and incarcerate her when others who have done far worse aren't even questioned. Lighten up.
Posted by: Star | November 02, 2009 at 02:31 PM
Nice to forget that Martha is a CONVICTED FELON.......Not a good image for a child.....
Posted by: Douglas Stewart | November 02, 2009 at 01:32 PM