Mackenzie (aka Punky) is quite demanding this year about what she wants for “Ho Ho Ho” (aka Christmas…Christmas is one tough word to say when you’re a primarily non-verbal child). She wants a “bike-a-bike” and a bear and a doll and books and a purse and shoes and boots…and…and…and…(it continues in this manner for a while and each request is punctuated by the corresponding word in sign language) and she wants her “bike-a-bike” NOW! I know this because she has informed me of this at least 7,642 times in the last two days.  I had nightmares all night in which an evil Punky chanted in a sing-songy voice, “I want my bike-a-bike” and when I refused to give it to her she went all Firestarter on me and howled with laughter as I burst into flames.

The bike is safely (for now) ensconced where she can’t get her hands on it yet, so we’ll move on to other Christmas presents. For the doll, she fell in love with the Black Apple Doll (template and instructions and a video are all on the webpage) from Emily Winfield Martin.

Here is the Punky version:

Punky's Black Apple Doll

Here’s my big secret regarding this particular doll…I put her stupid arms on upside down.  I have a feeling this blog is going to turn into more of a crafting misadventure blog than I’d like.  *Sigh* In my defense, it’s bloody difficult to pay attention to what you’re doing when you have four kids hanging on you, two cats scrambling over everything, and one huge dog who thinks he should take up residence in your lap. However, that’s no excuse for putting arms on upside down. I guess I’ll have to make her another one eventually…perhaps with the arms attached correctly. The older girls think she looks like she’s getting ready to give out hugs, so they like the mistake. It does sort of look like she’s ready to throw her arms around you (or maybe she just woke up from her nap and she’s stretching). Either way, she’s here to stay, flaws and all.