We Keep Growing

Seth and Amelia

Seth, Amelia and Liberty

Seth, Amelia, Liberty, and Elliott

Dance Recital

Here is the cutest video you will ever see. 

Amelia is the first one of the "Queens" coming out, check out her face!!!  

She is who everyone is laughing at...my little clown.

Not to be forgotten though is Little Sister...

Have a fun and safe weekend friends!

Help for Joplin

I grew up in a few different places.

I lived in Omaha until I was 11.

Then we moved to Kansas until I was 16.

Then we moved to Utah.

From 11 to 16 I lived in Coffeyville, Kansas.  I think you will all agree that those are some pretty formative years.  I am still friends with many of the kids I went to Jr. High and High School with there.

It is a very small town, so for shopping we went to Bartlesville or Tulsa, Oklahoma or Joplin, Missouri.

Photo from cnn.com – This is the regional Medical Center

I have spent a lot of time in Joplin.  My brother and sister-in-law lived in Pittsburg, KS, 30 minutes from there and 5 of their 8 children were born in Joplin.

My other brother and his wife live in Pittsburg now.

When I heard about the tornado that hit Joplin, my heart just sunk.  I know this town.  I know people that live near there.  My Mom called my brother right away, and I got online to see what the damage was and what was going on.

Photo: Mike Ransdell/Kansas City Star from The Chicago Tribune

My brother and his wife go over every day now to help with the clean-up effort.  But what can I do besides pray?

My friend, Melissa from Peanut Butter in my Hair, contacted me to let me know about an auction happening with Bigger Picture Blogs to help raise money for the relief effort.

Of course I jumped in and am donating a sling.

Below are a list of items being auctioned and the time they will be auctioned.  The auction will close on Friday, May 27 at 7 pm.

Payments will be made as a direct donation to The Salvation Army  listing the specific use as JOPLIN RELIEF. Your emailed receipt from The Salvation Army is your claim ticket to your prize. All receipts should be emailed to BPB4Joplin (at) gmail (dot) com within the 24 hour time frame to  claim your prize.

I am so glad to be participating in this event and pray that we can do something to help those whose lives have been touched by this terrible disaster.

Wednesday May 25
8am Assorted Watercolor Note Cards from Cards Direct ($40 value)
9am Art of Doing Nothing Poster from Tammy Lee Bradley ($28)
10am Gussy Sews Shop Credit ($25)
11am Thai Silk Pillow Covers from Jaime Shaw ($40)
12noon Hand Knit Market Tote from A Soft Landing ($35)
1pm Secret Hope Necklace from Create Beauty Daily ($38)
2pm Busy Body Book Bundle from Busy Body Books ($40)
3pm Handmade Ring Sling from Prairie Mama ($75)
4pm {So} Sack from {So} Sartina ($29)
5pm $100 Sweet Deal Credit from Mamapedia ($100)
6pm Pair of Spring/Summer Shoes from Hotter Comfort Concept Shoes ($100-140)

Thursday May 26
8am Strength and Hope Necklace from Shining Stones ($20)
9am $25 Stonyfield Organic Product & Cookbook ($43)
10am Fractured Glass Print from Tammy Lee Bradley ($25)
11am DaySpring Collection ($40)
12noon Monster Softie from Samster Mommy ($35)
1pm Vintage Fabric Fat Quarters from Sew Lovely Designs ($20)
2pm Love Print from Beth Fletcher Photography and June Afternoons ($25)
3pm Flutter Sleeve Ruffle Peasant Dress from Smashed Peas and Carrots ($36)
4pm Camera Strap Cover from Eclectic Whatnot ($38.50)
5pm $50 Gift Certificate from The Vintage Pearl ($50)
6pm Logo Design from NW Designs ($100)
7pm Ultimate Fan Pack from Discovery Channel ($200)

The Queen of my Heart

This weekend Amelia reached an important milestone in her life.  She had her first dance recital.

As I pulled her hair into a bun, applied makeup, and put her costume on her, I was taken back to my MANY dance recitals. 

The smell of the hairspray, the taste of the lipstick, the costumes, the sequins, watching the older girls, being afraid I would forget something...

But most of all, just having fun.

And that is what she did.  She had so much fun and I loved watching her.

The theme for the recital was Alice in Wonderland.  Amelia's little class were the Queen of Hearts.  She did such a great job with her "grumpy" face at the beginning.  Everyone just laughed and laughed.

The lighting was SO bad that I couldn't get a good picture of her dancing (no flash photography please).  So, this was her grumpy face that Jeremy caught after.  She is hilarious.

For my girls, the highlight of the weekend was having my Mom (Meemaw), Jeremy's Mom (Grandma) and Jeremy's sister (Aunt Sissa) and girls (Carlie and Josie) here.  This picture is the 3 girls after the recital.  Carlie was mesmerized through the entire recital and Libby was doing her own recital.

It was so much fun and we can't wait to do it again next year.  Hopefully next year we will have 2 little girls doing a recital.  That will be fun!

Are You Done Yet?

Are you getting sick of seeing Elliott??  Well, too bad.

My friend Heather came over the other day and shot some pictures of Elliott and the girls.  I love them so much.  It was hard to narrow it down to just these few, but I didn't want to overwhelm you all with cuteness and cause the internet world to all go and get pregnant just to TRY to get one of these.  So...you're welcome.

Can you guess what he is sitting in???

Add Seth climbing on my back, and this is my life.  I love it.

Ladies Man

Oh yes, he is SO loved.

Mush

So, it seems that along with my belly, my brain has turned to mush.

I can not think of a single thing to say here.

Nothing comes to mind other than this.

Now if you will excuse me, I have a baby to sniff and snuggle and love on.

Maybe I'm Just a Little Girl....

But, when I hold these 5 people, I feel like I hold the whole world in my  hands.

Thank you Emma, Seth, Amelia, Liberty and Elliott for making me a Mom 5 times over.

Thank you Jeremy for being the best husband and father in the world and allowing me to be the Mom I have always wanted to be.

I love you all.

Elliott's Birth

39 weeks 3 days. I was feeling every bit of it. I woke up that morning feeling grateful that the baby was kicking and squirming, but disappointed that he was not showing any signs of coming out.

This day was much like all the others before. Got Seth off to school, the girls and I played at home, folded laundry, and talked about what we would do when the baby was born. That morning we went to a breakfast at a friend's house with some ladies from church. They were all so surprised that I was still pregnant, and my friend Candida even took a picture of my belly because it was “so big!”. When we got home, the girls colored my belly (and their arms and legs and faces) with wet chalk and that sucked all my extra energy, so I had a small nap on the couch after.

I was feeling particularly weepy throughout the day, and just didn't think I could be pregnant one.more.day. I even sent Jeremy a text telling him that. I knew the end was coming soon, I just didn't know how soon.

When we walked to get Seth from school, I was really grateful that the temperatures had dropped a bit. Earlier in the week it had been in the high 90's and we went swimming after school. On Thursday it was in the high 70's and felt great to have a break from the heat.

All day I had been feeling really gassy, and had low back pain, so I decided that I was going to pamper myself a bit that night and go get a pedicure when Jeremy got home from work.

At 6pm, I arrived for my pedicure. The woman behind the counter looked at my belly and, without even looking at my face said, “How much longer?!”. I told her I was due on Monday and she looked frightened that I would pop right then and there.

I sat down and thoroughly enjoyed myself. After an hour, I stood up and felt more pressure than usual, but I figured all that relaxing helped him to drop down a bit further.

At 7 pm, I got in my car and immediately got a text from my friend Lisa. She was planning on coming to the birth to take pictures and knew she was on call at any moment. She asked if I was going to have the baby that night. I laughed when I read it and was going to text her right back to tell her “fat chance”, but I really had to pee, so I raced home instead.

I got home and was met at the door by Seth and Amelia. They were jumping up and down like they hadn't seen me in a week. Jeremy was reading to Liberty and I raced up the stairs to go to the bathroom.

I sat down, and when I went to push out some of that pent up gas, my water broke.

To say I was shocked is an understatement. It took me a minute to realize what had happened. When my water broke with Emma and Seth, I heard it in my head. I didn't this time. I just felt a gush of fluid coming out of my vagina, so I knew I wasn't peeing anymore. I hollered for Jeremy to “come upstairs RIGHT NOW!”, it was 7:15 pm.

I called Michele, my midwife, and let her know what was going on. I was sure that there was no hurry though. I hadn't had any labor signs before this, and was anticipating a long night. She was a bit, okay a lot, less certain about how long it was going to take and sent Genevieve, her apprentice over right away.

After I hung up with Michele, I did what anyone would do in my situation – put on my Depends and started texting family and friends and updating my facebook status. We were having a baby!

Jeremy got the kids to bed, and when Seth came into my room to see me rocking on my ball wearing a big “pull-up” he wanted to know what was going on. I told him my water had broken and that the baby was going to be born that night. He looked at me with surprise, ran over and hugged me, then ran out of the room shouting for Amelia! She was a bit more skeptical and even said, “Well, are you sure you're going to have the baby tonight? Are you sure it's not going to be like when you thought you were going to have me?” This girl. She had heard me talk about how I was in labor with her and then everything stopped only for her to be born 8 days later. I assured her that since my water had broken, the baby was coming soon.

She would continue to peek out the door of Seth's room throughout the night to see if I was still in labor.

From the time my water broke, my contractions started coming every 3 minutes, lasting for 45 seconds – 1 minute.

Genevieve arrived around 8:30ish and checked me saying I was a stretchy 2. I knew I had time, hello, I was only 2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. I was ready for a long night.

Jeremy was cleaning up the kitchen while I labored upstairs. I walked around my room, sat on the toilet and my ball and watched The Office.

At 9, I was ready for the TV to be off and was vocalizing a bit more during contractions. Around 9:30, Genevieve checked me again so she could call Michele to let her know what was going on. I was at a 4 and now 80% effaced. Michele knew she needed to get up here because things were going pretty quickly.

Around this time, Lisa arrived also. She started snapping photos and I got in the water. I was SO happy to be in the water.

From this point on, things become a bit of a blur, as they often do in transition. I remember throwing up right before Michele arrived. We laughed as I assured her it wasn't the last time I would do it though.

My contractions were double peaking most of the time. They would start, build up, hit the peak, go down, and then go back up again. I remember doing that when I was in labor with Seth. Maybe it is how my body handles labor when there is no fluid to cushion that cute little head.

About 10:30 or so, I remember looking at the clock and saying that he wouldn't be here for a while, I was guessing around 2 am or so. Remember, I was only at a 4 an hour earlier. There was no way that this kid was coming that fast.

I was in denial. Big time.

Michele commented at one point that I was sounding pushy. I remember thinking there is no way I am pushy, it is not time yet. But after she said that, I started to listen to my body and realized that I was getting close.

This was when I realized that the kids needed to come in if they were to see their brothers birth. Lisa went and woke them up and it was such a sweet sight to see my 2 babies crawl into my bed and wait quietly for their brother to be born. After a particularly loud (and intense) contraction, I asked if they were ok. Everyone laughed, but I really was more concerned about my kiddos than anything else at that moment.

Michele checked me and I was a really stretchy 8 and had an anterior lip of cervix. So, I went through a couple of contractions with her getting that last bit of cervix out of the way.

After about 2 contractions, I felt the urge to push. Michele told me that I can either push through this one, or just breathe, just to listen to my body. And I did.

I started breathing and then realized I really needed to push. I was in a semi-reclined position in the tub when I started to push. Immediately I remembered pushing like that with Seth and how badly I tore, and I knew I did not want to repeat that.

So, mid-push, I sat up to a squat, which took me out of the water. I pushed out the baby's head in 1 push.

Jeremy, who has never caught one of our babies, decided that this time he would put his hands in the water and catch the babe. So, he had his hand on the baby's head and was ready to catch. That is until I decided it would be more comfortable to shift a bit and stand up. Yes folks, you read that right, I stood up, with a head hanging out of me, to push out my son.

Michele looked at Genevieve and told her to catch. One push and out came our little boy.

Our slippery little baby came out so fast that his head actually got dipped in the water as Genevieve caught him!

Elliott Joseph was born on April 28, 2011 at 11:52 pm. He weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz, the same as Liberty.

As I write this, almost a week later, my heart and my head are full of emotion. I have had a hard time wrapping my head around his birth. It was SO fast, SO intense and SO chaotic (in my mind) that I sometimes have a hard time believing I actually did it.

I have shed tears that this was the last time I will give birth and it went too fast for me to really savor it. I had birth projects, plans, and a vision for his birth. However, as all of my other children have shown me, what I envision isn't what matters. They come to this world the way they need to and when they need to.

I am so grateful that I was able to give birth to another beautiful, healthy little soul and can't wait to see who he becomes.

Don't Throw It Out, Upcycle It!

Last month Kenmore asked for my biggest household challenge. This month, I am sharing how I overcame that challenge!  Kenmore is on the search for everyday genius & each month they are giving away $3000 in Kenmore gift certificates and a chance to have the best idea turned into an ad!

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We all have them, t-shirts that we shouldn't wear anymore, but can't bear to get rid of.

I am going to show you how to upcycle them into a dress for your little girl or a romper for your little boy.

 Let those old t-shirts live on!

I am going to teach you how to make your own t-shirt dress.  You can do this from any old t-shirt, or even a new one.  I made a shirt for Amelia out of a shirt I bought for myself that turned out to be not so cute on me.

So, here is a tutorial for a very basic t-shirt dress.  You can make your own adjustments to make it as fancy, or plain as you want!

UpCycled T-Shirt Dress Tutorial
Materials needed:

1 t-shirt
bias tape
elastic thread (you can find this with the elastic at Joann's or Hobby Lobby)
matching thread

For this dress I used a size small t-shirt. If your shirt is larger, you will want to cut it, then sew it back together so that it measures 20 inches across.

First you need to take your shirt and fold it in half and decide where to cut.  The shirring will take up about a 1/2 an inch or so, so take that into consideration when figuring out your cutting placement.

As you can see, I am using the arm holes that were already there for the arm holes of the dress.  If you don't have them, just fold your shirt in half, go in about 3 inches and cut arm holes in a "j" shape.

Now you will want to either serge the top with a rolled hem, or just make a 1/4 inch hem at the top. 

When you have done that, it is time for the shirring.  This really is pretty easy, even if it seems a bit daunting.

First thing you want to do is hand wind your bobbin with elastic thread.  Keep your tension medium tight and wind.

My bobbin is not filled all the way, you will want to fill it up.

Now thread your machine with the elastic in your bobbin and whatever thread you want in the top.  Set your stitch length to the longest possible.

Lining up your rolled hem, or regular hem, with the edge of your presser foot, and sew.  When you get to the end, leave a long tail of thread, cut it and go again.  You will do this for as many rows as you want.  I typically do 4-6.

The back of it will look like this when you are done

Now you want to tie off your ends 5-6 times.  I tie two together, that is why I always have an even number of rows.

Repeat now for the back and it will look like this. Cute isn't it?  You're almost done now.

Cut your bias tape to 25-30 inches long.  You will want 2 of these for the ties.  Find the center of the piece you cut and pin it to the dress.

I like to make a little pleat in the center before I pin the bias tape.  I like how it makes the dress flow and look.  You can do either one.

Now you're ready to sew your ties on.

Once your ties are on, you will want to finish off the bottom.  With this particular t-shirt, I kept the hem from the actual shirt.  Sometimes you can do that, sometimes you can't.

I love the way a rolled hem looks on a knit fabric, so that is what I choose to do.  But again, if you don't have a serger, you can just make a regular hem and it will look just as cute.

After you've finished off the hem, you are done!  You can add rick rack if you want, or pockets, or whatever else you want.  But, I really like to leave them simple.

And that is how I have solved my Design/Clutter challenge.  No more shirts that I can't part with just laying around.  They are now clothes for my girls and they love them!!!

What is your Genius Tip?  Kenmore wants to know, and is giving away up to $3,000 in Gift Certificates and a chance to have the best Genius Tip turned into a TV Ad!  Visit their Facebook page and enter today!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kenmore. The opinions and text are all mine.