The Handmade Dress

I honestly couldn't think of anything weird about myself when I was tagged by Esther (thanks, I have learned a lot!), so I called Kim . She had a few things....... at least 10 RIGHT OFF HAND! Wow, I never knew I was so weird! I feel normal, but she says I'm "just artsy and quirky". So here my friends are my quirks: 1) I see germs. You know those Lysol or Clorox commercials that have those squiggly worm-like germs. When my bathroom has not been cleaned in a day or so I start to see those germs. I don't literally see them when I am in the bathroom, but when I have that nagging feeling telling me to get up and clean the bathroom I see those germs in my mind. Their all over the toilet, sink, my kids hands, I can't take it! I have to go clean it with Lysol, and then I feel better. I don't use Clorox anymore because I still see the germs after Clorox, it has to be Lysol. I am not a germ freak I promise! The bathrooms and kitchen counter to...

Ben saved me. I was having the most horrible week. The kind where you feel like you will never get it all done so why even try. I had cleaned out the kids drawers and rooms and found 5 loads of laundry I didn't know I had, on top of the other 6 loads that I was already behind. I had three Thanksgiving dresses to finish, two for my girls and one for a friend, a crochet sweater to finish up for Lily and Iris, cooking to do, a walk I had promised the kids, and I really wanted a bath, and he saved me. He took the day off from work, and took all the clothes and two kids to the laundry mat, while I started sewing. When he came back he helped me fold every stitch of clothing and put them away. He said that the laundry mat is a very scary place, they fight over washers and dryers there! I had no idea, I thought it would be empty except for a few little old ladies or something. I guess I have never really thought about it before now. But WOW! He did all that for me! He said he wanted me to...

Today is Lily and Iris' due date. Today is the day they should have arrived, but we have had them here for eight weeks now. They're perfect. It is hard to imagine not having them here for all this time. As I write this it is hard to keep from crying. There was only a 50% chance that both our babies would make it here. Rae (my sister) was told at her first ultrasound that the babies (my nieces) shared the same amniotic sac, there was a very high risk of the babies becoming entangled, or one twin getting most of the nourishment. We did not believe the report. We all decided that this pregnancy was in God's hands and there WOULD be two babies in the end. We were all so excited in the waiting room waiting to see our angels, there was no fear present. The doctor came into the waiting room and explained, with tears in his eyes, how shocked he was to find two healthy baby girls, with SIX TRUE KNOTS in their cords! They were so entangled that when the doctors pulled Lily out Iris...

Some of you have asked about Timothy's arm, so I will tell you "the story". Three weeks after the accident Timothy brought me his cast all in one piece and said, "I take it off mama, I don't wone it." HE TOOK HIS OWN CAST OFF! He was supposed to wear the thing for six weeks! I called the doctor's office and they said to be there the next day and to let him wear his ER splint till then. The receptionist could not believe what I was saying, she asked how old he was, when I said three, "WHAT!" she said. This was a Wednesday so we had church that night, while we were getting ready Tim said, " I take my cast to church mama, I make the boys smew it." He is his daddy's boy! So we go in the next day, ready to be re-casted and Tim was a little celebrity around the office, they all called him Doctor Timothy. He was so proud of himself. "How in the world did he get this cast off?" I told him the story and how he wanted to take it...

We love our daily walk, so many interesting things to see and learn. We live on 10 acres of gorgeous land with a creek, four beaver dams, plenty of animals and animal tracks, lots of different trees and rocks, and old 4 wheeler trails cut nice and wide which makes for the perfect "adventure". My children start asking around 9:00am " when are we goin on our 'venture' mama?", sometime before lunch I usually give in and off we go! Molly always carries a basket or backpack for all of our little treasures, which are so lovely this time of year. Molly's favorites are the pretty leaves and Tim is always amazed by the rocks- of course! Then there is the never ending search, by all of us, to find the biggest and smallest pine cone in the woods. Most days we stop and sit in the middle of the trail to tell stories, and look at what we have collected so far. They love to hear stories about when mama was a little girl, and sometimes they have stories of their own....

To all of you lovely people who think that I am so smart for making my couch a slipcover, I am gunna tell you my secret. All I did was buy a book! I bought it at Hancock Fabrics ( way over priced and before I knew about Amazon), and it was worth every penny! I have made 3 slipcovers with this book, "So Simple Slipcovers" by: Gail Abbott and Kate Burren. There are detailed instructions on how to make the pattern, and how to sew it up. If you plan to make a slipcover I advise you to WASH YOUR FABRIC FIRST! You will probably have to go to the laundry mat to wash this much fabric (because it will be all one piece) in one of those triple loaders, but I promise it is worth it! If you skip this step, the first time you wash your slipcover the fabric WILL shrink and you WILL cry. Another thing to remember: If you want to be able to dry your slipcover in the dryer, you need to dry the fabric (all the way) in the dryer while you are at the laundry mat. This is...

First up, cuteness! Lily left and Iris right This was my latest project, a slipcover, uurrgghhh....... I hate to sew slipcovers! I have sewn a few in the past but I think I hate it more every time! I am so glad to be done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have always enjoyed before and after pics so I took some for you. I needed another couch for my living room cause we couldn't all fit on just one anymore. My living room has always needed another couch anyhow, because it is so big but I never found what I wanted for the right price(CHEAP!). A very dear friend of mine when I mentioned my hunt for a couch offered her couch that had been in storage. Yay! Free, I couldn't pass up that deal, but as you see it was a little out of date. I loved the bones of the couch so I decided a slipcover would be perfect. I waited until I found a good deal on fabric (CHEAP!) and I started the never ending project! Four days later, a slipcovered couch. So what do you think?