Category: Family

I can’t even begin to count the number of times this year I’ve mumbled, “this is the worst year of my life.”

Grandpa died in June. There are still times I forget he’s gone and expect to see him walk through the door and hug me tight. It’s been six months already, but there are plenty of quiet moments when my mind drifts to him and I’m overwhelmed by tears.

We had major (read: expensive!) car repair work done 4 times between January and August. Just when we were sure it would run like new for years, a drunk driver totaled it and took away our family car, leaving us to pile 3 kids into a teeny sedan.

We had plenty of money and health woes, too. Nothing major, but it’s been one thing after another non-stop this entire year. Things had finally settled, we decided on a van to buy and as we were getting our ducks in a row, we got a letter in the mail on December 9th that the house we’ve been renting for nearly 2 years is going into foreclosure and is being auctioned on the county courthouse steps Jan 3rd. Merry Christmas. So now we’re rushing around trying to buy our first house and it’s just not exactly ideal.

I’ve had so much going on in my personal life I kind of checked out on my blog. I’ve been sewing, but mostly for gifts and family and things that aren’t especially blog fodder. I’ve just felt completely overwhelmed by everything we’re dealing with, compounded by Christmas, and who cares about blogging, right?

So while I was off licking my wounds, I was learning more about the year other people have been having. There’s something so humbling about a huge reality check on life, isn’t there? Sure, we had to have the car fixed, but we had the money to do it. We survived the accident with barely any physical signs. This isn’t our house we’re losing, and in fact, we’re in a position to buy right now. We’ve never had to worry about having a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs or food on our table. Life might not have been smooth this year, but while we mourn and grieve for the loss of my Grandpa, we’re rejoicing in the healthy, beautiful baby girl we welcomed. How lucky are we?

I’m not sad to see 2011 end. It HAS been rough. I’ve prayed hard, cried harder, and laughed until my sides hurt. I’ve grown to cherish life even more, and learned a hard lesson about how you can’t plan for the unexpected. I’m ready for 2012 and all the amazing things it has to offer. I’ve got some things to blog about in the coming weeks, but I assume with the (hopefully!) house buying, packing and moving, I might not be posting much in the way of crafting. I hope you’ll keep coming back, though, as I can’t stay away for long!

So enjoy some pictures of the three greatest blessings in my life enjoying the Christmas holidays! Happy New Year!

I can’t believe it’s been nearly 2 weeks since I last posted! Things have been outrageously busy around here lately. I’ve made and mailed several orders, spent all last week making Thanksgiving outfits for my girls, and this week has been all about grocery shopping and baking.

But on this fantastic holiday, I really am grateful for all the wonderful blessings in my life.

-My husband and how incredibly hard he works for us.
-That I’m able to have my dream job and stay at home with our girls.
-My amazing family and their never-ending support.
-The roof over our heads, the food on our table, and, of course, our health.
-This blog and all the doors it has opened for me just by following my passion.

But mostly? I’m thankful for these gorgeous little people. Only in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be the lucky Mom to three beautiful girls.

And what better way to celebrate than with new outfits! They each got ruffle pants with a different top so they coordinate instead of match.

I can’t get over how big Ella’s getting! She’s almost 9 weeks old.

          

          

Her shirt was just a fussy cut pumpkin from the fabric I used for the other 2 that I appliqued to a onesie.

And I recently learned how to do a rolled hem on my serger. I’m in love!

Chloe’s outfit was a saved mistake. Originally I was making her top to match Sofie’s, but I cut it the wrong size (as a result of sewing at 2am) and had to improvise. But she’s so adorable, who cares?!

          

          

She is overflowing with personality!

          

For Sofie I wanted to add some pant fabric to her top to tie them together. With a little creative math I was able to make this contrast casing for the elastic that adds the perfect touch.

          

          

From our family to yours, have a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your day is full of love, laughter, yummy food, and way more smiles than tears!

I’m starting to think I should rename my blog “Sew Like My Mom Intended to Make” because things just haven’t been going my way the last 6 weeks! Ella’s an amazing baby, but she’s got some horrible reflux that’s been hard on us both. Sofie and Chloe had it too, but Ella’s has been harder to get under control. We’re finally getting into a good routine and getting good sleep at night. I love getting past the zombie stage!

So life with a 3 year old, a 19 month old and 6 week old is rough. The Hubs has been working 16+ hour days for the last few months so I’ve been doing my best to just keep everyone alive! Sewing and blogging has had to take a back seat to my family and though it’s made me sad, it was necessary.

But since things are finally starting to go smoothly around here, I feel like I can get us all into a good routine and get back to regular sewing. I spent all weekend giving the house a cleaning overhaul and it’s refreshing to have everything orderly again! I also finally got around to getting my birthday gift together, which leads me to this post.

I reorganized my whole sewing area…again. I started my blog not long after Chloe was born and my sewing area had become a disaster. I did a good job keeping it clean until my orders and sewing got out of control and I jumped from one project to another. The last 6 months or so I’ve just completely outgrown it. And while I was pregnant with Ella, my sacroiliac joint was misaligned. It was causing me lots of pain, especially while sitting in my sewing chair. I was sewing at our kitchen table while sitting on a medicine ball and fabric and notions were literally spread throughout the entire first floor of the house.

So for my birthday I decided I REALLY wanted a good storage system to help make life easier. The Hubs insisted that wasn’t a gift, just something necessary, but it was the only thing I wanted. We got them at Target on my birthday, but the shelves sat in the boxes for a few weeks until I had the time to not only assemble them, but get everything put together. Turns out last Sunday was the magical day and I’m SO excited with how it all came together!

                          

Earlier this year I was using my serger and my sewing machine regularly, but my sewing table wasn’t big enough to accommodate them both. I did some research and found this GREAT table at Ikea for only $20!! It doesn’t rock or move at all and holds both machines perfectly! It’s so wonderful to have them next to each other while I’m working on a project.

And I got my fabric all back in order. I like just looking at it!

                          

I’m also so glad that I finally get to use my table! It was hidden in the corner under a ton of other stuff and I was never able to open it up. I’ve been cutting fabric on the kitchen floor for a year and a half! So this has been great for my knees and my back, and it’s awesome to be able to leave a project there at any point and not worry about little hands getting to it.

I still share the room with the girls which makes it easy to sew and parent at the same time.

I’ve already made two things since getting it all cleaned up and put together and I’ve got a list a mile long of things to get done in the next few weeks. It feels good to be getting back to “me.”

For months now Sofie’s been obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake. She’s got tons of “Strawberry Cake” toys and they’re the most treasured playthings in our vast collection. We record the show on The Hub and she spends a decent amount of time every day lost in her own little world, playing with her “friends” and asking me to visit Berry Bitty City. As her love for Strawberry grew, I knew she’d be excited to emulate her for Halloween. I started planning the costume in my mind this summer and as the weeks have grown closer, I’ve been itching to get it made. I finally caught up on my orders this week and was able to give my girl the outfit of her dreams!

             

It was ridiculously easy to make, taking just a few hours, and I love that it’s real clothes, not a cheap, overpriced store-bought costume that either a) doesn’t go in the washer or b) falls apart after several rounds of laundry. But my favorite thing about it is how happy it makes my girl.

             

She’s been wearing it all week, fighting me over any reason I ask her to take it off. She wants to sleep in it, wear it to preschool, and show everyone she knows that she is now her beloved Strawberry Cake.

We argued a bit about whether she was going to have a hat (which she REALLY wanted) or Strawberry’s hair bow (which was more what I was thinking). But I’m a sucker for my kids, so she got her hat.

Making this costume was very inexpensive and really fun. In total I spent $17, and still have about 1/2 yard of fabric left over!

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Somehow an entire week of my life has flown by in the blink of one unproductive eye! Well, it’s been quite productive, just not in sewing or blog related ways.

I want to thank all of you for your amazing thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement following our collision with a drunk driver. It saddens me that so many of you have similar personal experiences and such a needless act has ruined many lives. Our wounds are healing and we’re getting on with life, but appreciate you reaching out to us (The Hubs reads all the comments you guys leave, too!).

We got the sad news late last week that our beloved Saturn was a total loss in the accident. We’ve had a hard time emotionally parting with it, as it holds so many dear memories for us. It was the first brand new car The Hubs ever bought (and it was totally paid off!). We spent many hours together talking and falling in love in it during the early days of our relationship. We drove away in it, complete with painted windows and colorful streamers, on our wedding day. It’s carried us safely on many road trips, vacations, and visits with family. Each of our three babies came home from the hospital in it. And it kept us safe and alive when it really mattered the most. While we’re excited to upgrade to a more family-friendly minivan, it’s been hard to part with such a great member of our little clan.

I spent the majority of last week on the phone with the claims adjuster, the salvage yard, the guy who estimated the damage to the car, the person at the total claims office at the insurance company, and fielded MANY calls from ambulance chasers. We spent the weekend celebrating my birthday with my family on Saturday, and The Hubs had to go into the office on Sunday.

Yesterday was my actual birthday, and I’m now enjoying the last year of my 20s. I remember so vividly my Mom saying for many, many years that she refused to be older than 29, and now that I AM 29, I totally get it! My darling husband came home from work early yesterday with flowers, a cake, and a bottle of champagne, then spent the evening spoiling me the way all men should spoil their wives on their birthday.

                          

And since Ella won’t let me put her down today, sewing is off the agenda. We decided some festive cookies were just the ticket on a cloudy afternoon. I decided to make the delicious candy corn sugar cookies I posted about last year. They’re still just as tasty!!

**I’m reposting my recipe from last year. I did use the plastic wrap when I made them this time–total lifesaver!

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