The Fabricland Halftime Show

I really wish I had pictures to share of my trip to Fabricland today.

My friend Ashley and I are working on making patchwork blankets out of all the receiving blankets that we are done with, but can't bear to part with.  We're basically done the top part, but I still needed to get some fabric to line the backs of my blankets, so today Kaycie, Knolan and I headed off to Fabricland to find the perfect backing for these keepsakes.

Well... little did I realize that the staff at Fabricland are completely kid and baby crazy!  And the customers, for that matter!

Everywhere we went in the store, one of the staff would be chatting up the kids, trying to amuse them and strike up a conversation.  Both of my kids completely ate up all this attention.  It was cute.  A little bit like some sort of SWAT team training scenario, though... with a new person popping up in every aisle.  :-)

Anyway, I could handle all of the interaction with the kids, but what I hadn't anticipated is the absolute LOVE that both of my children have for textiles and fabrics!  Knolan caressed every single bolt of fabric that he passed in his stroller.  Not just caressing... it was like they were all his long lost friends and he was at some sort of reunion.  He was in heaven!  It was as if I could have tossed him on a pile of 40% off fleece ends and he would have just stayed there for hours, catching up with his buddies.

Kaycie on the other hand, is why this post is called "The Fabricland Halftime Show".  As soon as she realized the sheer volume and variety of cloth in the store, she kind of lost her mind.  She danced from shelf to rack to bin to display examining each different type of fabric.  You could hear her clear across the store every 30 seconds:

"Oooh!  This will be just right for my wedding tomorrow!"

"This would be PERFECT for a Rapunzel dress!"

"OH... MY... GOSH...   SPARKLES!!!"

"Mommy!  You could make the most beautiful dress with this!"

"I love this one!!!"

She would wrap curtain sheers around her head a la Maria von Trapp.  She would rub flannel samples on her cheeks.  She was literally dancing between the displays of material singing "I loooove fabric!  Fabric is wonderful!"  I am not kidding.  I was shocked she knew the word 'fabric'!  She too was apparently in her glory.

She got so much attention, in fact, that she announced this to the store:

"Attention everyone!  Look this way, or you will miss the show!"

... and then she proceeded to break into THE most bizarre dance routine I have ever seen.  It involved a grand entrance where she walked backwards "on stage" from behind a stack of area rugs making "walk like an Egyptian" gestures.  She did jumping twirls, made crazy faces, shook hands with Knolan and a cashier, and ended her dance with a half lunge/half jump and her tongue sticking out.  Oh... and she also whispered "mazel tov" during her finishing pose.

I am grateful that I was able to be in the moment and enjoy every second of it.  The really wonderful thing of it is that she truly seemed to win over her crowd too.  She had all sorts of new friends after her "show".

In fact, the ladies who cut my material for us were so smitten with the kids, that they gave me a little wink and then showed me they were cutting an extra metre of Kaycie's favourite pink fabric and whispered, "sew her something cute".

Awwwww!  I left there feeling on top of the world.  It's always nice when people seem to enjoy your kids.

I asked Kaycie on the way out (as I pried Knolan's fingers off some seersucker) whether she had fun in the store, and she said, "That store is my most favourite place in the world."

... and here I am saving for Disney like a sucker.