The shop is open!

Ben gave me the go ahead to show off the shop! It should be much easier to navigate now that it has been redone, and Mac users should be able to shop now too! The last website was a mess, thanks to me. :) Ben took this project over a few weeks ago and I think he has done a really good job. I love the way it turned out!

So to bribe some of you to try it out and be our guinea pigs we are offering 20% off for the next 5 days. All you have to do is use the coupon code "blog friends" at checkout. If you encounter any hiccups just email Ben at ben@thehandmadedress.com.

Now for the really exciting part! Ben added a forum to the new site! I'm so excited about this! I can't wait for you guys to join, we can have our little virtual sewing circle and share sewing projects now. I'll get to hear about all of your projects for a change! I'm still learning how it works, but the only real way to get the kinks ironed out is to dive in! So head on over and sign up. I can't wait to start chatting! xo, Sam

It's tradition!

It's that time of year again, when we start doing a little early planting.....and you know what that means...

As soon as Ben cranks the tractor to till up the first bit of ground, the kids are right behind him barefoot, hose pipe in hand, ready for that first bit of soft mud! Somehow this year the wait was extra hard, maybe it was that they were stuck inside more (with me on bed rest), but they asked (nagged!) almost everyday about when the garden needed to be tilled up. It's tradition! They look forward to that "good mud" all year long.

They did-it-up right! They made up for that long winter stuck inside!

This was a little over a week ago, now they have started nagging  asking about the first dip in the creek. That swimming hole is just calling for them! They got to play in the water a little last week at camp, but it wasn't their swimming hole. I guess we will have to put little Claire in her sling and take a walk down to the creek soon.

I love that they love and look forward to all of our silly family traditions. And I love that there are more little ones coming along to enjoy them with. I think I enjoy taking pictures of these muddy little critters as much as they enjoy getting muddy!

Happy Saturday friends! ~xo, Sam

Sling sewing for Claire :)

It seems like years since I have posted any sewing here on the blog! Being at my sewing machine again has been  heavenly! My first project came out of necessity. My sister Rae has been sporting this super cool sling from Mamma's Milk and I really wanted one too, the only problem was that I wanted a cute one. After some searching I found that they sell their pattern! YAY!!!!

I whipped one up within half an hour of finding the pattern -so much better than waiting on shipping and having to pay full price! I used my Hunky Dory fabric that I have been saving for one side, and for the other I used more of that pea green sheet that I got from my Granny. I LOVE IT! And Claire LOVES IT! It's reversible, it fits perfectly (they have an automated fitting chart that you can go by), and I felt good knowing that it was their tried and true pattern.

Before Rae and I went to the camp on Monday morning I made her a pretty sling too. And then that night, after using mine all day long with a happy baby, I made two more for baby gifts! They are so easy and the babies love being in them so much that it just seemed like the perfect baby gift. Another thing that really makes me happy is that I can put it on easily by myself (that wasn't the case with my old baby carrier) and it folds up tiny to fit in my purse or diaper bag.

I guess you know what happened next....there were these two little girls that needed slings for their baby dolls. The pattern came with a little tutorial for doll slings too. Maddie fell asleep in hers last night. Why didn't I get a picture of that?

Well at least I got a picture of this! Ben used my sling to keep Claire happy while he was cooking breakfast the other morning. How sweet is that? Now he wants one in a manly brown or black fabric.

I've got more sewing to do this week and I can't wait to show you! I just need a little more time to get it just right. It is so good to be back at it. I love my job. Now I'm going to head outside to snap pictures of all of our new baby goats to show you. Oh my goodness they are so sweet! See you soon :) xo, Sam 

PS. Claire was three weeks old on Monday and yesterday was her due date. We sang Alice and Wonderland's Unbirthday song to her all day. She liked it. ;) 

The many faces of Claire, and an update...

I'm still here! We have had a busy week! It was Spring Break which means that my kids went camping with my Mom and Dad all week and that means that Claire and I had to visit the camp several times, Claire had her second doctor visit, I did some sewing (YAY!), and Ben and I (mostly Ben) have been working on a new website. Besides that, I have just been soaking in all of these sweet little faces that she has been making lately!  

First up, spring break. The weather here has been amazing! We've been enjoying temperatures in the 70's and 80's for a few weeks now. The kids had such a good time camping and I really enjoyed visiting and being outside again. Claire and I didn't do much except sit outside the camper and soak up the fresh air, but that was good enough for me.

Claire got a clean bill of health at the doctor's office! Her heart sounds much better and should be perfect within another couple of weeks, her jaundice is almost completely gone, and she was 9lbs already. Now if I could just get that little monkey to sleep for a couple of hours together at night....but then I might miss her....hmm.

Now about the sewing! I had a few very fun baby projects this week and I can't wait to share them (along with the pattern link). I'm going to get Ben to snap a few pictures for me tomorrow and then I'll tell you all about it.

Be on the lookout here for the new website announcement! The grand opening will be in the next few days and we will have a good sale to start us off! Ben says that he's almost done and I think it's going to be great.

I know this was a quick update, I'm a little bogged down with this itchy, sneezy, sore throat, allergy mess tonight, but I'll be back soon with projects to show off. Oh friends! It feels so good to be back in the land of the livin'! I'm so ready to dive back into life with my new little sidekick! Life is good! xo, Sam

Our Babymoon

Tonight I was looking through all of the pictures on my phone and though they aren't perfectly in focus, and the lighting isn't always right, they make me so happy! Each and every one is just the way I want to remember our babymoon. So tonight uploaded a few to share with you. This first one is when Claire was just hours old, she was hanging out with her best girl Violet. They have decided that even though they are cousins, they want to play twins with Lily and Iris's old clothes! I can't wait!!!

Here she is getting rid of some of that jaundice in the sun. On this day we sat here in front of the window in my big chair, with her stripped down to her diaper, and nursed all day long....Seriously, is there anything better than nursing a little bare baby?

This one was taken after a pretty long night. Molly had stayed up late with me the night before and when I got up early the next morning she held Claire (and fell back asleep) while I got the coffee going. So sweet!

Claire already likes to be played to, and around here she gets to enjoy a good session at least once a day. With her long fingers she'll probably be joining in before we know it!

Maddie LOVES being a big sis! She requested and posed for this picture, my little camera hog. :)

Maddie took this one the other night as I was stealing kisses from Claire's soft little neck. Aren't those neck kisses the best?!

Daddy showing off her first manicure...

Stylin' and profilin'. 

This is what I like to call "milk drunk". You know the look! It's when their little faces are just covered in milk, and you can't wake them up for nothing. It's my favorite.

Tim took this picture of Nana (my mama) on a Claire visit. Claire likes when Nana and Papa come, she told me the other night that she can't wait to go camping with them when she gets older. ;)

Every night little Claire gets passed around for that one last "hold" before bed. Tonight Tim and Claire fell asleep during their last hold...it makes me think of the other morning when he leaned over her cradle and told me "Mama, I'm gwad (glad) she wuttin a boy." I love that he loves to take care of his girls.

She was twelve days old today. It's crazy how one little baby can have an entire family completely wrapped around her tiny finger in just twelve days. We are just so grateful to have her! And we are so thankful for all of these special family moments that have made the last twelve days so memorable. I feel like the most blessed mama in the world! xo, Sam

In Heaven

(picture taken this morning)

That's where I've been for the last six days. Oh my goodness! I can't even begin to describe the last six days of my life! I had such a wonderful and peaceful labor and delivery experience. Ben was great, God blessed us with a sweet nurse that didn't mind working with an unmedicated mama, and my doctor was on call and excited about working with us...oh it was so perfect! I plan to write down my whole labor and delivery story soon, but I'm still not sure if I will share it here or not as I don't plan to leave out details. Maybe I can share a revised version here if any of you like to read birth stories (I do).

Labor and delivery seemed like a wonderful dream, but it still didn't feel real to me, then that night when it was just Ben and I alone with her it started to sink in. I told my doctor the next morning that it felt like I found out I was pregnant, having a girl, and I got my baby all in one day! If I'm being honest I have to say that my heart really never let me believe that we were having a baby. There were times that it would feel real for a minute, but then it would quickly fade. For the entire pregnancy I felt like my heart just ignored what was going on, even when I tried to force myself to feel something. The last six days have just been a happy blur of all of those emotions slowly settling in. Molly told me the day we got home "Mama, I just keep randomly crying when I see her. My eyes just fill up with tears and I can't help it, I'm just so happy!" I think that we all feel that way. I think we just wanted her so badly that we were afraid to feel it until she was here safe and sound. She really is such a little miracle! Shortly after she was born I told Ben "You know, I think I wanted a girl all along." And I know I would have felt the same way had she been a boy! She just felt so right, exactly who God meant for us to have and that's just what I wanted.

I made it to 36 weeks and 6 days! Those few extra days inside mama made a WORLD of difference! It is incredible what a difference just one more day can make. Those last few days were totally worth the fight! Claire has been so much easier in every way than my other babies. The biggest difference is nursing, she nursed at 20 minutes old like my other babies nursed at a month old. Now at 6 days old she nurses like they did at 4 months, it's crazy! My other babies were very jaundice and had to have billibeds, Miss Claire has just been eating so good that she is getting rid of it on her own. She is just such a dream, I never knew it could be like this!

I just can't wait another minute to show off her hospital pictures! I was trying to wait for them to come in the mail, but they still aren't here! So that's why I'm using the watermarked web photos that they let you share online. Isn't she perfect?! She was about 24 hours old here and the photographer was so in love with her. She just went on and on about how sweet Claire was with all of that hair, and how easy she was to photograph "Like a little porcelain doll." I was so proud! You know they probably tell all of the mamas that but I just had to believe her!

With all of these big kids around I just feel like I can't waste a moment with her, I know from experience how fast the first few days fly by and become years. I plan to enjoy every single moment that I can with this little gift. Oh friends! Can you believe how God answers prayers so perfectly? I just can't believe that God would bless us with our precious Bulgarian babies and another sweet biological baby!

If anyone needs me I'll be here holding an angel.....writing her birth story in my mind while we nurse....so sweet. xo, Sam