We Need Out of the House

This tonsillectomy recovery has been brutal! We’ve been giving Emmy Tylenol and Ibuprofen around the clock and encouraging her to drink, but some days she’s just miserable. She hasn’t really eaten much, just a few bites of mashed potatoes and popsicles. She’s starving for real food, but her throat hurts too much to eat it. She’s also restless and bored—and honestly, so are we!

She and I just needed to get out of the house for the day, so I looked up places to do crafts and we ended up at this adorable craft place near the UNL campus. They had walk-in hours where you could pick a craft, and they’d provide all the supplies, instructions, and a place to work. The day we went, it was snowing and freezing cold, so we were the only ones there for a while. Then, a couple of college girls came in later.

We chose to make a tote bag. I was worried it would only take about 15 minutes and cost $40, but they actually had us do a lot of steps, which turned out to be the perfect distraction for Emmy. She picked her design, weeded the stencil they made, used Mod Podge to seal the edges so the paint wouldn’t bleed through, and then she got to paint it. In total, it probably took about two hours.

I told the lady why we were there, and they really doted on Emmy, complimenting her artistic talent. She decided to do an ombre effect for the butterfly, and it turned out super cute! It was the perfect distraction from how much her throat hurt.