Solutions

 Problem #1

Eli started complaining this summer that he couldn't sleep at night because it was too light outside. We have their windows covered with blackout blinds and a bookcase in front of the window, but apparently that wasn't enough.

(I shouldn't make fun because if I wake up in the middle of the night and someone has forgotten to turn off the computer in our bedroom or the closet light is on or the boys' have turned on the bathroom light down the hall, I cannot fall back asleep.)

He asked if I would make him a sleeping mask like the one I use, but I was feeling lazy and made him make it himself. This was his first attempt at sewing and he whined all the way through it, but it gets the job done.

Solution

 Problem #2

Cole's school supply list was extremely specific this year. First off, his teachers requested that he have his very own 2" zip binder (translated as "trapper keeper" for children of the 80s). Those things are darned expensive, even if you sacrifice your values and make a trip to Walmart. As I handed it over to Cole on the first day of school, I said, "You better take really good care of this so I never have to buy another one ever again."

They also requested that he have a soft-sided pencil bag. No, no, the hard-sided pencil box that he used last year will not do. It must be soft-sided. Since I had spent all my money on the trapper keeper, I made Cole dig through my fabric stash, and in only an hour's worth of sewing time, I was able to save myself probably $2.50. We customized it by writing "Work hard and be awesome" on the patch.

Solution

When I'm not trying to save a measly amount of money, I can never convince myself to drag out my sewing machine, but I must admit that seeing the finished product of something I made all by myself is quite satisfying.