Repurposing A Shirt Into A Clothespin Bag

Sweet summer time! In the summer, and on nicer days during the other times of the year, I like to hang dry my clothes to help offset the air conditioner as well as keep it cooler in our home. The dryer makes it hot!

One thing I hate about line drying is how my clothespins always get nasty out on the line, with dirt and muck, and the worst of worsts, spider webs and spiders. I remember when I was a little girl (do I sound like an old lady now?) my Nanoo would have this nice little purse looking thing that hung on the clothes line and she would take it in and out with her. Her clothespins were always nice. I wanted one. But the problem was, I never thought about it while I was out, plus, if I can make one, that would save at least ten bucks, according to Amazon.

Well, today my machine was already out because I've been working on making some more baby wipes, so I decided to give it a shot.

I went through the boys' outgrown clothes and found a fleece pajama top. I chose fleece because it is somewhat water repellent, just in case it would get wet from the clothes or a surprise shower.

This is a 3T, but I think any smaller size would work.

Then I cut off the sleeves, leaving a little room to sew them together, and cut off the top, above Buzz and Wood's head. I would have cut below the sleeves, but I didn't want to behead the guys, plus the bag would have been smaller.

You can toss the scraps, unless you want to save them for something else.

I then turned the square inside out. I trimmed the sleeves that were left a little more, then sewed the holes shut, I also sewed the bottom shut. Leave the top open.

Inside out.

Then, while it is still inside out, you want to roll the top down to form a cuff around the entire bag. Then sew all the way around the cuff to hold it down. Be careful to not sew the bag shut. 

You don't have to do this if you use fleece, I just think it looks better this way, but if you use a different fabric and you don't do this, it will probably start fraying eventually.

After you get the top sewn, then you cut out two pieces of ribbon the same length. Mine were about 8 1/2 inches long.

You want to sew the ribbon into each side of the bag. 

I sewed them about a half inch down to give it plenty of room in case the ribbon frayed.

Ribbon placement, you want one ribbon on each side of the bag. The other ribbon is on the other side, near the other hem.

Make sure to sew the ribbon on well, it is what will hold your bag to the hanger. I sewed it twice and then back-stitched.

Then flip the bag right side out and it is done.

Clip off any extra strings. Hang the bag on a baby hanger, and there you go! Easy peasy. It took me roughly 5 minutes start to finish. It isn't perfect, but it works well. Alta saw it and wanted it, so I guess I change the ribbon placement and make her a purse out of one. 

Nice, new, clean clothespins!

I'm planning on bringing mine in when I gather my last load of clothes off the line and hanging it in my laundry room. Now I just need a few more lines.

Picture Post

Lena is One Month!

Lena Sue is already one month old! This past month has flown by.

At 2 weeks she started rolling from her belly to back, which seems really early. I thought it was an accident at first, but she has continued to do it, so it is the real deal. At 3 and a half weeks, she started smiling, but in the last few days, she has really started smiling. It melts my heart. She cooed a little today, but only twice, I hope she starts doing it more in the next few days.

I am not sure how much she weighs, but she is a chunk. She weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces at 2 weeks old, so I'm guessing she is at least 9 pounds, maybe 10 now. Her next appointment isn't until July 16.

Breastfeeding is the same as it was with the rest of the kids, it is hard. She is supplemented with formula since my breasts do not make enough milk to feed her exclusively. But she is happy and healthy, that is all that matters.

She is a great joy to us all. Her personality is starting to show and she is a very easy going baby.

Newborn

One week

Two weeks

Three weeks

Four weeks

Alta is 3!

Yesterday, June 20, Alta turned three. I can't believe how fast the past three years have gone. She is incredibly smart. She can run super fast, talk super fast, throw the world's biggest tantrums, give the world's biggest hugs, ride her tricycle, swing on her own, and a million other things. The best thing about her is her loving heart, she is a true nurturer and love to mother things. She likes to help whenever she can, except when it comes to picking up her stuff. She loves her big brothers and her little sister and calls them her best friends. She also has a neighbor girl that she calls her best friend. She loves dresses and having her hair "like a princess". She loves bath time but hates having her hair washed.

Her party, was of course, Cinderella themed, she loves her "Cinderelly" and thinks that she is Cinderella. We celebrated on Tuesday since Sam had to work yesterday. She got a bunch of cute presents, including a Barbie purse and accessories, a baby doll (that looks like Lena) with a blanket crocheted by Granny Joann, a picnic basket with toy food, candy, Disney movies, bubbles, and a paint book. The sweetest thing she got was her cupcake necklace that Landon got for her with his own money. We got her sand toys because Sam is building her a sandbox. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things she got, so I apologize if I didn't list your gift.

We also went to the zoo last Friday for her birthday. We didn't get to do as much as usual due to construction at the zoo and me getting sore and needing to leave a little sooner than normal, but we still saw a lot and had a lot of fun.

Yesterday we spent the day at home, until Landon had to be taken to urgent care for a bee sting, which ended up with an EpiPen prescription, but that's another story.

I'm so proud of the little girl she is becoming, she is a great person to be around and sweet 99% of the time. Everything is "Pretty" and "Beautiful". She sees the best in everyone and everything, I hope she stays that way.

(Please excuse the sores on her nose, she had impetigo, which has since cleared up. But it never fails, someone always has something going on during a birthday or holiday.)

19 vs 27

At the age of 19, I became a Mommy for the first time. Almost 8 years later, at 27, I became a Mommy for the fourth time.

At 19, I was a good mother. My baby was happy and healthy. He had everything he needed. However, looking back, I was not the best mother I could have been to him. I could have had more patience. I could have spent more time with him. I could have held him more. I could have snuggled him more. I could have done more research on safety for babies instead of following older advice from well meaning friends and relatives. I could have rear faced him longer, I could have pumped a little longer, I could have done so many things that I do now.

But I didn't. I didn't know any better. I was naive. I was young. And I wasn't confident in my parenting choices and decisions at that time, and so I listened and followed what other people said I should be doing and I did what they said.

Now, at 27, I am still a good mother. My kids are still happy and healthy. They still have everything they need. But now, I can say, I am the best mother I can be. Getting up at night with Lena, I have noticed I have a lot more patience than I ever did with Landon. It is easier to give all of myself to my kids now than it was when I was younger. I am also very confident in my parenting choices now. I have learned to research and follow my own instincts instead of doing what everyone else thinks I should do.

Am I saying that teen mothers are any less or any worse than average aged mothers? No. As I said, I was still a good mother. Landon is happy, healthy, and smart. I wouldn't even go back and change anything. I'm glad I was a teen mom, I'm glad we had Landon and I wouldn't change him for the world. I'm glad he is who he is, and I'm proud of the young man he is becoming.

Do I wish I would have had him when I was older? No, not really. If I would have waited to have him, he wouldn't be him, and like I said, I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Does that mean I love him any less than I do her? Absolutely not. I love all of my kids. But as the saying goes, "When you know better, you do better."



*This is not to say that teen mothers or young mothers can't be as good of mothers as older mothers. Who knows, maybe when I am 35, I will be writing again saying that I am an even better mother then than I am now. In fact, I hope I do, I hope I keep getting better and better, my kids deserve the best mother in the world.*

A Grand Entrance

Lena Sue

On May 22, at 8:11 am, Lena Sue arrived via repeat c-section. She weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. She is perfect in every way.

The entire week before she came, I had been having contractions. I didn't think I would make it to my section date, but I did. We arrived at the hospital around 5 am, and I was contracting every 2-4 minutes. While I had a c-section, Lena still chose that day for her birth regardless. 

My surgery was scheduled for 7:30 am, so during the 2 and a half hours, they took my history, started an IV, and gave me a few meds. 

At about quarter to 8, we headed into the OR.

During my spinal, the power went out in the hospital. So they had to stop and wait. Which meant when the power came back on, they had to start again. Ouch.

Surgery went great, no pain during, and minimal after. I had to go down to the PACU after, because of the power outage, instead of being able to recover on the birthing floor. But, and here is the great part, even though I had to leave to recover, Lena was able to go straight to our mother/baby room with Sam. She never left to go to the nursery after birth. I was in recovery for maybe 20 minutes or so, then brought up to our room, where she was able to breastfeed and we were able to bond and get to know each other.

They also didn't give her a bath, giving us time to bond, and let her vernix absorb in a little better, until she was about 8 hours old. At that time, they did take her to the nursery to give her a bath and to do her hearing test (she passed). Other than that, the only time she left our room was when she went walking in the hallway with us and when we left to go home. 

The older kids came soon after she was born to meet her. Seeing all four of my kids together melted my heart.

We came home on Saturday the 24, and Lena has been fitting in like she has belonged here all along. Which I guess she did.