Oh yes. Big deal here at our house because my son cannot STAND the idea of dressing western. Loathes the idea. Why, I don’t know, but he does.

I set out his clothes this morning and when he spotted his pearl-snap cowboy shirt on the bed, he instantly started whining. It wasn’t like I laid out boots, spurs, Wranglers and a hat. Or even a bandana. Just a simple pearl-snap shirt that he uses for days at Grandma’s farm. I learned this morning that while that shirt is just fine for the farm, it is absolutely unacceptable for public wear.

“My friends will laugh at me!” Enter tears. Lots of tears. Then arguing and anger. And then more tears.

So….do I back down and not make him do something that makes him uncomfortable? Or do I insist that he go against what he believes in and participate?

I made him wear it. I did it so he would learn that acting ugly and rude about something isn’t going to change my mind. And so that he would realize that in life, we just sometimes have to follow the herd. And so that he knows that as a student, you do what your teacher says. And as a child, you do what your parents say. And that’s that.

I hated to send him to school after a morning like that. It’s just sad. But Shayne said once they got there he was okay with everything and it was business as usual.

At the moment I’m sitting here with a bowl of Cheerios trying like hell to NOT think about what the teenage years will be like.

I call this set ‘Lots o’ Spots’. Mainly because, well….it has lots of spots. I love spots and I love these colors!

And these just almost became ‘Citrus Schmitrus’, but then I decided that nobody else would get a giggle out of that like I did, so they became ‘Just Juicy’.

The name ‘Melon Mania’ made me laugh a bit when I looked at these. So it stuck. Even if melons are more red than pink. And the green might be a bit off. But whatever. Melon mania is funny despite it all. At least I think so.

And on that silly note, I’m calling it a night. I swear, the older I get, the harder these time changes hit me! Or maybe it was the 19 loads of laundry I did and the 12 pounds of chicken I cooked for dinner. Or chasing around a busy little girl. Or turning 30 this year. Hmmm…I can’t decide.

I’ll sleep on it.

Today I got to watch my brother’s sweet new thing–a new son–on webcam. He’s absolutely beautiful and I am in love with my new nephew. I can’t wait to meet the little guy in person! Today is his one week birthday already! Happy birthday to him! I’m dying to share a picture but I didn’t ask for permission, so I’m just going to leave you guys hanging on that one! Just get a mental picture of a beautiful baby boy that’s just chilled out and sweet…with his sweet new feet poking out of the blanket. That’s him.

EDIT: My brother read this and said I could post his sweet little thing! Yay! So here he is: Liam Reece

The other sweet new thing on my mind today is a set of ribbon I bought. While it’s not as sweet as my darling little nephew, it is pretty darn sweet. So sweet that I ran home and immediately made a set of clips and put them on the products page for ya. I think they’re sweet new things!

Oh…don’t forget to sign up for the clip giveaway by noon Friday!