The Handmade Dress Infomercial: Do you suffer from scrached DVD's?

Do your children cry when they can't watch their favorite movie because of irritating scratches? Are you sick of paying good money for movies that are scratched minutes after you take them from the case? Do you often wish that we could just go back to VHS because you could leave them out in the rain, bring them in and use them for a coaster, and then let the baby throw it for fun and it would STILL WORK!? ME TOO!

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We have struggled for years with scratched movies that were no longer watchable, but not anymore! We have finally found the secret formula to rid you of this nasty little problem forever!

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Crest Kids Toothpaste! YES, that's what I said! Kids toothpaste!

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A few months back I heard some place that toothpaste would take of scratches and I tried it and it didn't work, then the other day out of pure desperation I tried it my way. IT WORKED! So I decided this kind of news could not be kept secret, I have to tell the world! So I have put together a little tutorial for you.

First let me say this: I have tried this on DVDs, Cds, and a Wii game and it has worked like a charm every time, but on one REALLY scratched DVD I had to do it twice (after the second time it never skipped a lick- yeah I just said skipped a lick, shuuu-up). And it is my belief that you need to use kids toothpaste, because when I tried this before with adult toothpaste it didn't work (I think it was because it may have been too abrasive). It worked with this crest toothpaste so I will be sticking with this brand from now on. . All you need is toothpaste, a DVD, a clean soft towel, and a sink. Now you will just dot on some toothpaste. Spread it out evenly. Then you will rub in circles applying pressure until the toothpaste starts to feel too dry and sticky to rub anymore. Pressure wise I would say just keep in mind that you are kind of buffing the scratches out of the plastic so you need to have a moderate amount of pressure. I rub with my first three fingers as shown above. Then I rinse it off in warm water, rubbing gentle to make sure I have gotten off all the sticky. You don't want toothpaste in your DVD player.

Next pat the DVD dry with a soft clean towel.

And there you have it! A scratch free disc that the whole family will enjoy! You may still be able to see most of the scratches but they will be not be as deep now so they won't skip.

I hope this helps someone. We had so many movies that we have not watched in months because of scratches and now the kids feel like we have new movies.

xoxo,

Samantha

DISCLAIMER: I am no expert scratch getter, I'm a stay at home mama who is just sharing what has worked for me. You can try this at your own risk. LOL!

This Old Quilt

Here is her story (I know she's a girl, I can just feel it):

While thrifting one day at the worst thrift store in town I found her, she was smelly unappreciated and maybe even a little dirty but she was oh so soft and well made. I think it was love at first sight. Can that happen with a quilt you ask? Yeah it can! And it did. I took her home and washed her....she was beautiful and soft and fluffy. I promised to take care of her always, to love her, and use her everyday. She was with me through my first pregnancy, she was there with me at 3 am while I was nursing newborns -I told you she was a girl, a boy would have split by now! LOL! -bless her heart she has been puked on, pooped on, peed on and my sweet old girl has just kept on giving. Well, the last time I washed her she started falling apart. I was so upset I had let it go this far! I made her a promise, so I decided to give her a little make-over when we got home from the beach. Yes, she even went to the beach with me looking like this...but I can't live without her! I couldn't go on vacation and leave her behind no matter how she looked! We need each other.

I gave her a good looking over and saw that the only real problems were the frayed edges of the binding and the last blue panel on each end. I picked some fabrics out of my stash that I thought would look nice on her and went to work. I'm sure quilters all over the world will cringe when they read this-I'm sorry. I just fixed her the best way I knew how. I started by zig-zaging this green fabric over the blue panel that was in such bad shape. I just ironed one side under about 1/2" and used old seam as a guide. I then pressed it, pinned the edges, and sewed along the edge with a long straight stitch. My reasoning for the long stitch was that I didn't want to deal with puckers and folds while applying the binding. I'm not a quilter so I don't own a walking foot which would have been very helpful (this is a foot for your machine that helps to feed layers of fabric evenly through the machine to prevent puckers and folds). After that I attached the binding all the way around. My method was to sew the binding fabric and quilt right sides together, turn the binding fabric under and fold over to the back, then stitch in the ditch on the right side.

I gave her a good wash and snuggled up with her while she was still warm. I know she is not made of the most beautiful fabrics, I'm sure she would love to be made of Anna Marie fabrics (who wouldn't?), but she is perfect to me....and now I feel safe knowing that she will be with me for many more years. Maybe even more puking babies....I hope so.

Eight years....

For eight years I have been learning to be the help meet to an amazing man. Monday was our anniversary and we left the kids with the fam at the beach house and went off for the day, it was wonderful! We had so much fun! We had lunch, went fabric shopping, had dessert at Starbucks (where we fed little birds part of our blueberry scone), went shoe shopping, and then had dinner at a really good seafood restaurant....it was lovely.

I wanted to say something really pretty and profound about our life together but I just couldn't find those kinds of words. We still have so much fun together, I still get giddy when he calls and says he's on his way home, he still kisses me for no reason at all, I love the way he smells when he's been working hard all day, it's not fancy......but it's all I've ever wanted, and it's exactly what makes me happy.

It took me a couple of years in the beginning to learn how to be his wife, but even that was fun! I love being his help meet. I love that he provides for and takes care of me. He is the head of this house and I am so proud to be his wife.

I have had such a hard time the last couple of weeks. I have had a crying spell at least once a day, but he has been so sweet and understanding. He doesn't get frustrated at my inability to hide my feelings or get over this quickly. I love him... and I would be perfectly happy with eighty more years just like this.

(The fabric came from a little shop called Lacy's Quilt Studio. It was my first visit but I think I will be back next year! I even went back on our way home and bought more, I will show those later.)

A very random update.

• We are having a wonderful time even though I was up until 5 am having a good cry (Ben said it was my pressure valve). I feel much better and now I'm going to get a nap.
• Beach volley ball is awesome and I am #1 at trash talk -not trash as in ugly words, trash talk as in "Come on let's see if you can make it over the net this time princess!" that kind.
• The kids are having the time of their life!
• I went to the doctor Wednesday before we left and I didn't really get any good news, all of my "options" are pretty much scary. I had a few tests done that I will know about on Monday and I'm too scared to call!
• Mary has a really good post on her blog today (about choosing fabrics!) and everyone needs to see it!

Live from the beach!

Hey friends, it turnes out we do have Internet here! I had a doctors appointment yesterday morning before we left so we got a late start, getting on the road around lunch, ugh. We arrived at the house around 5 or 6 pm so I didn't really take and pictures

We are here....

...and responsible for the death of about a million bugs whos little corpses are still on the front of our car and windshield. It's nice to be here...... ....and this makes it even better.... coffee, hazelnut creamer, sugar, and heavy whipping cream....ahhhh. Have a good Thursday friends!

Yay! A sewing post!

This is the other project that I started last weekend - well really the two other projects, I made two of the same bag. They were some other baby gifts that I have been needing to finish for a couple of months now. Don't ya hate when you get behind on sewing like that?! It makes me twitch. I was so happy to have these finished that I sent them off before I could get good pictures of them. These pictures were taken at about 10:00 at night so they are not that great. We do what we can, right!

The fabric is from Hobby Lobby, I could not resist the sweet little cowboys! They are so cute! The bags have two huge pockets on one side (one for diapers one for wipes), one bigger pocket on the other side with a snap at the top, and a little cell phone pocket on top of that one for mama. I hope the mamas like the bags!

I just have to share this conversation from two nights ago, it involved me, Molly, and Tim.

Molly: Mom, watcha cookin?

Me: Chicken Pot Pie...

Molly walks around the corner and says: Tim! We are having Chicken 'Pop' Pie! Do you know what the chicken pops are? It's a disease that you get all over your body and it itches so much you just want to die! I love chicken pop pie! YAY!

Now keep in mind when they had the chicken "pops" they all had pretty light cases. None of them had been vaccinated so they had natural cases and the spent about three days swimming in my big jacuzzi tub with oatmeal bath. Molly was the one that begged to have them again! LOL! I cooked all their favorite foods, they all got a special toy, and they all had them two weeks apart so the sick one got all of the attention. Isn't it funny how kids think? I thought it was so funny that she described it that way. LOL! Silly kids.

On to yet another subject, I'm leaving town! Whoo hoo! We are leaving for the beach tomorrow! This time we will be spending the week with Ben's parents and all of his brothers and sisters, which means my sis will be there too (my little sis married his little brother). Remember Ben is the oldest of 12 children, and three of those children are married, so this means a house FULL of fun! The kids are so excited, they have been packing their "most important" toys for the trip for the last two days. The word on the street is we will have high speed Internet there -OK not really on the street, but you know what I mean- so I may not be around blog land much while I'm there, but if the rumor is true I want to try to post a picture everyday. Guess we will see when we get there! I think that getting away for a few days will help me so much, I'm ready to have some fun and cut loose. There is always lots of "cutting loose" when you are with this group of kids (each of my children have an aunt or uncle the same age as them- yes, this means I was pregnant with my Mother in law three times). I can already see many many volley ball tournaments in my near future, hopefully some late night poker (no money involved though), lots of good old fashioned junk food, and DIET SUNKIST....*singing* ahhhhhhhhhhh!......It will be perfect!

Waves and Trust

My emotions are so fragile right now. Yesterday was so hard because Ben was at work (24 hr shift). By the end of the day I'm worn out emotionally and I start to feel so overwhelmed. It is so crazy how it changes throughout the day, it comes in waves. I start out so happy and thankful for my sweet family; then one person says "how ya doin?' and I'm a basket case, completely broken. I'm praising God one minute for the chance to carry my sweetie for those eleven weeks, and the next minute I'm wondering if there is something really wrong with me that I can no longer carry a baby. I wonder if I will have any more babies or if I will have to wait another year and a half to conceive just to go through this again. I have even struggled with horrible, almost morbid thoughts. The good news is, through all the waves of emotion, deep down I feel like God is doing something in my heart and in my family.

. I found this song by Casting Crowns called "I Will Praise You in This Storm". There is a part that says "I will raise my hands and praise the God that gives, and takes away" that's what it really comes down to...trusting that he has a bigger plan for you than you have for yourself, that when he "takes away" it's part of something bigger that we can't see yet. I've always thought of it this way: You know that painter that was on PBS every Saturday morning when we were younger....Bob Ross?...Well I loved that show and I always watched it. I remember that there was a point where he would paint something in and I would think "Well he just messed that up! Why did he put that dark stuff there? He just ruined the whole thing!". But he knew what he was doing, he had a plan; after a few more layers of paint it would be perfect, way better than it would have been had he not put in the dark stuff. After watching him for a while I learned to trust him, he may paint some ugly stuff in every now and then but he will make it right in the end..... it was always perfect in the end. I'm learning to trust God like that. I'm not always good at it ....but I'm trying.

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I know this post has been all over the place, but I've said what I needed to say. It makes me feel better just to get it all out. Thanks for being here to listen. I wish I could give every one of you that have wrote emails or comments during this hard time a huge hug. Why can't we all sit down and have a cup of coffee? Wouldn't that be nice? Thanks for sticking with me friends, I love you all. I will be praying for your family tonight too. xoxo, Samantha

Praise.

It's almost 5am and I can't sleep.....because all I can think about is those tiny little arms and legs. God is so amazing, look what he created. I would rather have gone through all this than to have never known this little one at all. This sweet baby brought so much love and joy. Life is so amazing! My sweet children are the reason I'm here and the inspiration for everything Ben and I do, even the ones we never held. I was put on this earth to be Ben's help meet and the mother of these five children. They are all blessings from God! I'm making a conscious effort to praise God for all the little blessings around me. We have so many reasons to praise him! I want to trade my sorrows for the joy of the Lord. I know that sorrows will come, but I want to train my heart to praise even in times of great sorrow. Thank you God for this precious life!

I'm just trying to be normal.

Yesterday was just a fog, I was still so groggy from all of the medicines they gave me Monday that I couldn't write at all. My sister and my good friend came and cleaned up my house and brought me food. I was so glad to see people from the outside world.

Today I woke with a strong desire to be normal again. Ben is back at work and I feel well enough to be up and keeping the kids by myself again. We got up and decided on chocolate chip pancakes. Brother (that's what we call Tim at home) washed the dishes as I messed them up, Sister (That's Maddie's name) ate more chocolate chips than she handed to me for the pancakes, and Sis (Molly) supervised. It's nice to be Mama again. My kids have had a really rough week and I really just want them to have a normal day. Now they are playing outside catching bugs. I've not really been normal for a while now. I was so sick for the last couple of months that I just skimmed over everything. I'm looking forward to cleaning the bathrooms good and keeping the laundry caught up - My Mom and my friends got me all caught up so all I have to do is keep it that way. So, the dress. It's a baby gift that I started on Saturday morning just as the news was starting to sink in. I desperately needed something to keep my hands busy and this is a project that I've been needing to get done for a while now. It's hard to explain but it was so comforting to be working on a dress for a new healthy baby while I was dealing with the loss of my own. Many of the stitches were made through tear filled eyes but the quiet rhythm was just what I needed. I finished up the last bit of the hand sewing on the inside just before they started my IV on Monday. The dress is made of imported dotted Swiss batiste, I free handed the initial, and on each side is two rows of light blue feather stitching. I love using unexpected colors for tiny pieces of embroidery, the bright vibrant colors against the pale pink fabric are so pretty to me. I started two other baby gifts on Saturday too but I will share them when I'm done. It's crazy how these little ordinary tasks can get you through such tough times. My heart hurts today but I don't want to think about it. I just want to do things that I haven't done for a while and forget about the pain....just for now.

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PS. I had some really dumb comments on my blog last week (before my baby troubles) - someone was playing a "joke" I guess - so I had to add comment moderation to my blog. I hate having to do this but it was my only choice. To get to the point I'm new at this comment moderation thing and I have accidentally rejected three of your very sweet comments, I am so very sorry. I don't know if you get an email saying your comment was rejected or not, but if you did it was not intentional at all! I am so so sorry, please forgive me!

It's over.

I went to the hospital Monday morning prepared for anything, but my heart was strong and ready to tell them our decision. They took me back for the ultrasound and I had no idea what we would find. Would there be that little flicker of a heartbeat....or would it be as before? As soon as I saw that perfect little angel on the screen I knew he/she was gone, there was no more questions in my mind. I didn't cry.... it felt very peaceful. I just lay there and enjoyed seeing my baby one last time. I was amazed by the tiny little arms and legs. She said "It's a perfect little baby, I can see nothing wrong outwardly, but it's little heart must have just quit beating. It could have been that the implantation was not right." It felt so good to hear that,"perfect little baby". I asked for a picture and she gave me one just before I left.

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We had 3o minutes before I had to sign in for surgery or tell them that I had backed out. Ben and I talked and cried but God had given us both a peace about the fact that it was truly over. Looking back I feel like maybe the reason I felt I couldn't go through with the surgery was because Friday, when I found out about all of this, I was alone; Ben and I make all of our decisions together and I couldn't make a decision like that without him seeing what I saw. After we talked for a while we both agreed that we were at peace with the fact that it was over, that's all I needed....peace. The same strong feeling that I had an hour before was now pulling me in the other direction, that mama sense always knows what's right.

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I signed in for surgery and I cried. The last moments are hard for me.....just knowing you will only have your baby with you a little while longer is so very hard. My sweet doctor came in, held my hand and prayed for Ben, me, and our children. Then it happened.... I woke in recovery and felt my belly to see if the baby was really gone and he/she was. A while later I got dressed in my maternity clothes that I wore there but I no longer needed them.

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I came home and slept until dark, got up and ate a little, then slept until now. I'm hurting, exhausted, groggy, and I miss my baby terribly; but I'm at peace and I have no regrets about our decision... and that's all I wanted. This is the first time in 7 1/2 years that I have not been pregnant or nursing a baby. I don't like it. I miss my baby.

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When I woke yesterday to eat I checked my email, there were over 40 emails and comments from mamas all over the world letting me know they loved me and they were sending prayers and hugs. It makes me feel like I'm not fighting all alone. Thank you and I love you too.

today..

Today I feel stronger. I miss everyday life, normal routines, healthy babies, normal food. I made a big decision when I woke this morning after only four hours sleep. Ben and I have talked it over and it's final. I can't go through with the D&C. I can't. I'm still sick, my chest is still sore, there has been no bleeding, and even though I feel like it's over.....there is still that chance. I will never forgive myself if I let them take this baby without outward signs of a problem. Ultrasounds are so inaccurate at this stage and that is all I have to go on. I'm going back to the doctors office tomorrow, having a blood test and an ultrasound and I'm coming home with my baby until he/she is ready to go. I will have a D&C when the time is right, but deep down in my soul I can't feel right about it with the way things are now. I know I will be dragging things out and making it harder in ways, but it's what I have to do.

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I can feel God again....and even though I feel like he is standing just outside the door....it's nice to have him here.

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Each and every kind word has been cherished. I never imagined what comfort could come from this little corner of my life, your stories, your encouraging words..... Thank you, I love you all.

The truth

I have always told the truth here, I'm not going to start sugar coating things now. What I have to say is not pretty, it doesn't sit well, and you know I have never been one to use fancy words; but if there is any small chance that it would help another hurting mama I'm willing to write it all down just how it happened, no frills.

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For the last two days I have been in shock, mad, confused, MAD AT GOD, felt guilty and I've not really even cried much. I have even thought about being an atheist, but I couldn't make myself believe it. I'm hurting and I feel numb at the same time. How could this happen?

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I lost a baby almost two years ago at 11 weeks, I hurt for so long. We tried to conceive again but nothing. Just when I had given up all hope of ever having another precious child and had become content with my three beautiful children that are here, it happened.... a year and a half later I was expecting again.

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The deal was sweetened the next day when my sister called to tell me she was expecting too! My sister miscarried a week later while we were at the beach on vacation. I felt so guilty to be the one still pregnant, but she assured me that she was so happy for me and she did not have any resentment at all. I was glad to be able to help her through her pain with my own experience. We have always been very close and I was so glad that it only made us stronger.

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Now this. I had a dream the night before I went to the doctor that the baby had died, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. It's too much. I have found myself questioning everything I have ever thought or believed. I'm struggling to even believe what has happened, it really doesn't feel real at all. My mother in law called this morning to talk to me and I was so ashamed of the things that were coming out of my mouth. She said "God is the only one who can make you feel better" and I replied "Well, we are not on speaking terms". I apologized for telling her how I really felt instead of just saying something like "Oh, I'm fine. I will feel better in a few days". She told me she understood. I can't lie. It's not me. Then today while reading all of your loving comments I saw the word "valley". The song "If you want me to" started playing in my head. I don't remember ever hearing this song before so I googled the words that I could hear and read the lyrics. With every word I felt a little more strength.

This is the song....

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I'm not OK. I am in so much pain that I can't even begin to describe it in words, but have decided "I will walk through the valley if he wants me to". Sometimes I will walk backwards, sometimes I will crawl, I may even stop and scream every now and then, but I will walk through this valley for his purpose. There will be days that I may not be able to talk to him, like yesterday, and there may be days that I tell him I hate him and I won't go; but I will.... I have a long hard road ahead of me.

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My children are praying for "a baby that won't die".....I HATE to see them hurt. Ben is amazing, taking care of the kids and house .....even when he's hurting too. Please don't stop praying for my family, I may need you to go to war for me on the days I can't. Please don't stop commenting, I know this is not a fun place to be right now but it means so much to me to know that your there. Thank you for being there....I can't explain it, but it is so comforting. I love you all.

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I truly hope that this "truth" will help someone else, that these raw uncensored feelings will feel comforting to someone going through the same thing. If I don't help someone else it was all for nothing.....It can't be all for nothing.

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it hurts

I went to the doctor yesterday for a kidney infection. They decided that while I was there they would check for a heartbeat since I'm 11 weeks. No heartbeat. They tried a sonogram, "no cardiac activity" They called in a specialist who looked and told me that the baby was dead. They said the baby died about a week ago. I go in for surgery Monday (D&C). I'm not bleeding, I'm still sick, on the screen was a perfect baby with arms and legs, but no heartbeat... I requested another sonogram before the surgery just to be sure and they said that would be fine, but they were sure there was no hope. No hope...

On the fridge...

Molly fixed the baby pictures for us to all enjoy and hung them on the fridge. I love it. Baby was 7 weeks in these little pictures, I think we are close to 11 now. I always call these the peanut pictures. LOL! Can you see that little peanut?

Have a good Labor Day!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday! I'm headed to mama's house for some BBQ. The kids are working on a video for you, it has to be "perfect" so I don't know when it will be ready.

What do these pictures have to do with anything? Well it's a new applique that will be ready soon for free download in the shop. Like it? I designed it for a sweet girl this Summer (it so fits her personality) and when I came across the pictures today I decided to offer it as a freebie. I think we will call it the Gracie Purse Applique. I will let you know when it's ready.