"Great moments are born from great opportunity"

Tweet this!

Seen the movie "Miracle?"  Remember the speech given as a pep talk before the big game?  This kid does the speech perfectly.  Seriously, this kid is too funny.

Another funny kid - and this one really cracks me up - is my buddy, Claude 2.0.  Claude-uh.

Claude 2.0 has made it to Texas! Phew! I know you were worried.  His other momma sent me this photo...

And guess what?  He has a facebook page! Who knew?! I guess it makes sense because he's a public figure and all.  You can like him here.

The Other Brother

Tweet this! Do you remember Claude?  What am I thinking, of course you do! How could you forget Claude?
Well, let me ask you this:  Did I mention that Claude has a brother?  

After I made Claude, he stuck around for a week or so before I had to ship him off to Bowling Green, Ohio, as part of a birthday gift for Chris.   During that time, he spent a lot of time hanging around with my friends and I – specifically,  my friends Kelsey and Thomas.  Claude came to the pool with us. He came out to lunch.  He drank beer.  You get the idea.  So then, when the fateful day finally arrived and we had to say goodbye to our dear friend Claude, it just felt so wrong.  

So what did we do?  We drove to Target, bought an XXL-size shirt for $6.00, and got to work making a new, bigger, Claude.  We call him Claude 2.0.  His name is pronounced like “Cloud-uh” because he is pretentious.   He even has accessories! More on that later.

Claude, The Lovable Monster

Tweet this! My dear boyfriend lives in Northwest Ohio. After learning about the Five Love Languages, we learned that his love language is touch. Cute, right? Also a dilemma -- because he lives 5 hours away. My love language, if you were wondering, was actually a tie between gifts and words of affirmation.

So, a few weeks before his birthday, I started thinking... how can I give him a gift that can kind of work as touch, too? [Begin brainstorming session here...] [Do the noodle dance.]

Ding ding ding, Eureka! A stuffed animal! But I couldn't buy one - because I like making my gifts. Also, I'm poor. I didn't want to make a pony or a teddy bear -- because he's a boy and, if I was going to give him a stuffed animal, it might as well be boyish. Finally, it dawned on me: A monster!

Thus, the dream of Claude was born. I poked around my room, found some old pillow cases and a button, and started cutting away...

Well, to be exact, first I drew a horned, one-eyed monster on a piece of paper, cut it out, and traced it onto the pillow case - then I began cutting away at the fabric. Will post a "How-To" shortly!

But for now... Meet Claude.

Actually, his full name is Claude Jacques Cousteau. Yes, he is an explorer. Yes, he has donned a mustache at times.

He enjoys reading books by the pool. (He's reading Percy Jackson, by the way. Just in case you were wondering what monsters read in their spare time.)

See ya later!

Psssst! Remember the five love languages? Do you communicate primarily through touch, gifts, words of affirmation, acts of service, or quality time? Want to find out? Take the test by following the link below!