update on my clan

Well, it's been crazy. As usual. I've been sewing as much as I can, making super cute baby shoes, purses...well, you name it. Now how can I possibly find time to sew and crochet when I have so many small children? Take a look at the dark circles under my eyes and you will see the answer. I am sleep deprived. But I gladly give up sleep to craft. Why, you ask? Because if I don't have a creative outlet, I will go insane. So it sucks for my health, but it's good for the health of my family. LOL! When I'm stressed, I sew. When I'm worried, I crochet. With two active sons and a daughter that's kept me on the brink of a mental breakdown, it's no wonder I never sleep...but damn I make lots of things!

So, to add to my stress levels, my daughter appears to be suffering from the same type of asthma my eldest son has. On a routine visit, a new doctor was listening to her breathe and taking quite some time. He turned to me and said something that just took me by surprise. He said, "I want to get a chest Xray because I hear a heart murmur. The last Xray you had for her showed an enlarged heart, and I want to see for myself." Well, I was unaware of any enlarged heart, and I was instantly worried. Apparently, heart disease can be masked by symptoms of asthma.

Two EKGs, and echocardiogram and another chest Xray later showed that my baby does indeed have an enlarged heart and blood vessels because, get this, she has a large hole in her heart. It's called an atrial septal defect, ASD. Luckily, because he caught it early, it's fixable and should not pose any problems in her little life. It's not the cause of the asthma, which was not a surprise to me because we have asthma in the family. According to the cardiologist, lots of babies have small holes in their hearts but they heal themselves and no one ever knows about it. Every once in awhile though, the holes are quite large and have to be medically addressed. If my new pediatrician had not listened, really listened, we might not have known until she was older and possibly symptomatic. We went in for asthma and came out with a heart defect, although she definitely still also has asthma.

When it rains it pours. So, does this mean I will have to stress about her for the rest of her life? Have to? No. But will I? Abso-frickin'-lutely.

Anyway, I am going to post a tutorial on a purse pretty soon here. Working on it and taking pics now! Check back later...

I'm baaaaaccckkk

Well, I've been busy. Of course, that's an understatement to anyone with three kids. LOL! I've been really sewing up a storm though. I am notorious for screwing up anything and everything I try to make; it's part of the adventure. If it takes 3 hours to sew a bag, it takes me an extra three hours to rip out all the seams I messed up and start again. But, what can you do? I am finishing a bag right now that is my first attempt at a diaper bag. Well, I wanted a diaper bag that I was not embarrassed to carry about in public. It seems all diaper bags are so...well, Mom-ish. I wanted something that looked like a killer stylish bag, but just happened to carry bottles, diapers, binkies, etc. It may not look like much now, but it's going to be awesome. Of course, that's if I don't screw it up...which I most likely will. :)





Oh, and here's a picture of my crafting area. See how messy it is? I have bins of yarns and material. I am such a lucky gal that my hubby created this space for me!

Check back soon for a gusseted pocket tutorial. I have no idea how to make one, I can't find a decent tutorial online anywhere, so I am going to figure it out (painfully and with good use of my seam ripper, I'm sure) and then I am going to share with everyone.

Oh, and I had my first craft show! It was total crap and I didn't sell a thing, but that could be because no one came. It was over 100 degrees and it's a brand new show...no one knows about it yet. But hey, at least I tried! I am fired up now and applying for three more (different!) shows!