The Handmade Dress

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This morning I made muffins, but before I heated the stove, got out the muffin pan (I hate cleaning those things), I decided to give our quesadilla maker a try. It worked! And it made flower shaped muffins! The kids shared the little flower petals. They thought I was awesome. That's a nice feeling. :) So fast, easy, cute, cheap, easy cleanup, AND my kids think I'm awesome? It was a total win! I've also used this thing to make cornbread for dipping in chili and it works great too. I love this thing even more now! Next I'm going to try pancakes that we can dip into syrup...I'll keep you posted on that. xo, Sam

I couldn't let Christmas go by without telling you guys how much you mean to us! You guys are such good friends and I really appreciate each and every one of you! You guys are always there to encourage us, laugh with us, pray with us, and follow along with all of our silly adventures! With five kids to train-up, love-up, and bring-up I don't get to respond to comments or post as much as I would like, but you guys are so patient- Thank you! It really means so much to us! From our family to yours we wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! God bless you all!

Tim, the typical almost 9 year old boy, has been needing little jobs to do lately. He has his own tool set and he is the go-to guy for anything requiring tools. He is also our "royal bug catcher", which means he kills spiders and any creepy crawlys that end up in the house. He also has the job of tending the fire and bringing in the firewood all winter (which still hasn't happened here, they are still in shorts most days). With all of those jobs, AND taking care of FOUR sisters and a mama while dad is gone, he still gets "restless"; so lately I've been coming up with new ways to occupy him. I turn ordinary tasks into MacGyver games! For example, today Claire dropped her pappy into the change jar (we are saving up for our big trip in the airstream), that's definitely a big brother job. Just before he dumped it I stopped him and said "You want it to be a MacGyver game!?" He smiled big and said "Yeah!" I made the rule that he could NOT d...

We played dress up for a little bit today. *LOVE*

The night before Thanksgiving I realized that I didn't have a bag big enough for two babies! I went up to the loft and dug around a bit for an idea and came across this canvas tote -given to me by Amy Butler when I was at market! Perfect! It was the right size, and I hated for it to stay in a drawer not being used (Amy would be disappointed), so that was it. Besides, I was pretty crunched for time and needed something already put together like this so that I didn't have to start from scratch.  (Me just chillin' with Amy Butler! hehe!) Next I raided the scrap bin and went to work. I put pockets everywhere I could fit one! I dropped a liner (with pockets) into the inside of the bag, and I was done in under two hours. It didn't cost me anything but fabric scraps and a tote that wasn't being used. Oh! And now I get to look at my Amy Butler bag everyday. :) This is the inside without the diapers and extra outfit. Pockets everywhere! And he...

Today I'm going to teach you to make this..... ...from this! The easy way! Some of you may want to know why I would want to do that to start with. Well first, the cheapest way to cloth diaper is to use prefolds and covers. Prefolds only cost about $1-$2 each and if you have 24 you can wash every other day and have plenty of diapers. You only need about 4 covers (and that's PLENTY) to go with them and you are set. (Covers are the waterproof outer shell that keeps baby's clothes dry.) For the newborn stage cost is very important because they grow out of them so fast! Prefolds are bulky and fiddly to use on newborns, and that's why I haven't used mine at all until now. Fitteds however, make life much easier because you don't have to try to fold the diaper around your tiny baby. To be honest I just couldn't get the hang of it on a newborn. Prefolds come in several different sizes so as long as you have the correct size for your babe, this t...

She's growing so fast! She looks more like a baby and less like an infant every day.  She has been so awake this week! Much sooner than my little preemies. With all of this growing up going on I felt it was time to make a few more dipes in the next size up (size small).  In my spare time this week (nap time) I whipped up these four little diapers. I added in some fun cotton prints and I love how they turned out! I'm not fond of the prints they have available in diaper fabric at the fabric shops around here, so I had to get some prints in there somehow. I even added these back panels to two of the diapers..... I also tried painting on one with acrylic craft paint! And it worked! It has been washed about 3 times and the paint looks just as good as when I painted it. I have all kinds of ideas for more now!!  I hate to run, but little Penny is telling me that it's time to nurse. :) xo, Sam