"THE WORST LAND RUN DAY EVER!"

This picture is completely unrelated to this post. However, Popcorn wore it to go shopping the other day, and I just thought it gave you an interesting glimpse into her personality. Yes, I let her wear pretty much whatever she wants.

There is never any drama in my house. NEVER. And I resent any implications that there may be a tendency towards drama around this place.

Except for the teeny fact that there is.

Take the Land Run Day. The excitement builds for weeks.Wait, let's rewind. For any of you who do not know about the Sooner State, we had a land run. People lined up with their covered wagons and earthly possessions and took off to stake their claim in a new territory. Unfortunately, the territory had already been forced on the Native Americans. Remember the Trail of Tears? Our government forced the Indians to journey by foot to Oklahoma where they could have their own land to keep forever.

Until of course we decided to be "Indian Givers" and steal it back in the form of a land run. Any white man who had a fast horse could go to the land office, get their flag and fill out some paper work. Then, when the gun went off on the designated day, (I'm too lazy to look up any real facts here, so this is all pure recollection from Oklahoma History and the movie Far and Away with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman....... So I'm sure every detail of this is correct) they could take off in a race for their parcel of land.

Unless, of course, they encountered a Sooner. This was a person who sneaked into the territory before the official start, and staked their claim before it was strictly legal...

So, now that we've completed our history lesson for today, sketchy as it may be, we'll get on with my tale. The girls were anxious about their school's celebration. They get to have a covered wagon contest. There are costume contests, and they usually have a chuck wagon and a general store to buy snacks and treats at. They have people come do rope tricks, and speakers come tell the history of the land run, along with showing brief films about true events that occurred....in place of my sketchy facts...

You know they both wanted new costumes. Bookworm thought she might want to be a squaw this year. After their enlightenment last year (click here) regarding Indians in Oklahoma, she decided she preferred that ancestry...Which we do not have. No, she didn't want me to make her a dress out of brown fabric where I would make a simple tunic and make some fringe and whatnot. Nope. She wanted to go to The Cherokee Trading Post and buy an authentic squaw dress... Ummm, not happening folks, unless she's going to wear it to church, for Halloween the next three years and so on. Those suckers run around $100, and I just couldn't see buying that for one day of fun. But, they are absolutely beautiful. And they're made of deer hide, by authentic Native American artisans. Seriously, they are gorgeous, and soft, and I secretly want one for myself. Just because I do.

Moving on.

Popcorn wanted to wear her sisters costume from the year before. She quickly understood that the only way they would get new "old time" dresses was if I made it. And, let's just say my sewing is sketchy at best. Yes, I can sew. Curtains are a no brainer. I can follow a pattern, but it takes me forever, and I have tons of problems, because I never sew. I prefer to nag my mom into doing it for me, or asking my sister to loan me her girls old costumes. My life as a lazy mooch is just easier that way....Anyway, Bookworm's old dress was made by my mother, and it is beautiful...See?


Well, Bookworm decided she would settle for a simple long skirt, with a plain t-shirt to go with it. After all, most of the fourth graders wouldn't be dressing up. So, on Wednesday we went to Walmart to look at their fabric. Because, no I have no fabric. I had one yard of pink polyester gingham print that I think I bought off of the clearance remnants one time for Valentine's Day boxes. Oh, and let's not forget all of my jean scraps for patching their knees...By the way, I'm an EXPERT patcher. Go here to learn the ins and outs of the perfect pair of patched jeans....

Okay, this is the sum total of my sewing supplies. Yes, they are in a plastic sack. No, my kids did not even remember I owned a sewing machine..

So, we went to the store and bought some fabric. I simply stitched the selvedge edges together, measured it to length, then put in an elastic band and hemmed it with some pretty ribbon. One problem here. I measured to her waist. Duh, nobody wears anything on their waist. Consequently, her dress drug the ground and was about 3 inches too long. But, not judging by this picture, of course, it came out pretty cute.

Fast forward to the big day. We got up early to pack lunches. Popcorn stated she was wearing her moccasins. Bookworm had planned on wearing her black boots with fringe, that look a lot like squaw boots. Apparently after I left, Bookworm wanted to wear moccasins too.

Of course, her sister was in fact wearing her moccasins, as Popcorn's are now too small, and since the world is all about her, she just put on her sister's and never said a word. Well, Bookworm threw a fit of epic proportions. She was livid. Her dad, being the big diplomat that he is told her to "get over it" and made her wear her boots.

Never mind that Popcorn was wearing shoes that didn't' even belong to her. That was irrelevant. Nope. Bookworm had to wear a different pair of shoes than she wanted because her sister beat her to the punch. Wow. Glad I wasn't here for that. It escalated into a meltdown that included the screech "THIS IS THE WORST LAND RUN DAY EVER!!!"

And then they missed the bus.

So Studmuffin was late for work.

And then it rained all day.

So all of the events had to be moved inside.

So, indeed it was a disappointing day.

But. Bookworm said it turned out okay, and everyone liked her costume.

The End.

Finally.