Martha Stewart Live!

It's baby arts and crafts week at our house. Superman's baby Dedication service is Sunday, September 21st at our home church, and I am scrambling to get everything ready. Any of you who know me well already know that I can't be normal about anything. Everything has to be a complex production. Well, trust me that his Dedication is no different! Hubby has really helped me realize over the last few years that the rest of the world doesn't expect me to be a modern marvel Martha Stewart , but that I create those expectations for myself. I have worked hard to pare down this production, but certain things had to be done.

LOCATION - The first question was "Where to have the Dedication?" If we have it at our church (where Hubby pastors), we can pretty much rule out most of our family attending. That would include my dad since traveling is fairly difficult for him. We might have Hubby's 2 aunts and uncles, but I'm pretty certain that most of my extended family wouldn't be able to make the trip. If we have it at our home church where family can attend, then none of our church family can attend and we impose ourselves on a congregation that we haven't been an active part of for over a decade. We debated this for months and finally came to what we believe is the right choice for our family. We are going to have a private Dedication performed by Hubby and 3 of our uncles on a Sunday afternoon at our home church in our home town. We didn't want to leave our current church family out, but when we had to decide whether or not to have the event so that my dad could see his first infant grandchild dedicated, the choice was clear. (I noted that this is the first infant grandchild because my parents have 4 other grandchildren, but we missed the infant phase with them.)

WHEN - We decided on September 21st because it is my Mother's birthday. Last year, on her birthday we surprised her with a visit and gave her a poem telling her that we were pregnant. It seems fitting that one year later we would return to the same place to dedicate that child to the Lord.

CLOTHING - I'll bet that no one is surprised that Hubby and I disagree on what a BOY baby should wear for a Dedication service. Hubby was apparently picturing a nice pastel blue Jon-Jon sort of outfit. Well, I've been dreaming of cathedral length christening gowns ever since Hubby proposed to me. So, we compromised. Superman has a new white bubble outfit trimmed in soft baby blue. AND, over that he is going to wear a sleeveless, scoop neck cathedral length christening gown. Once the actual service is over, he can take off the gown and just have his bubble. This style was in the Strasbug catalog a few years ago. They don't make it anymore, so I searched online and can't find a pattern for it anywhere.

This is where arts and crafts week comes into play. I picked a pattern that had a regular long gown with flat pleats adorning the bottom. The same pattern had a sleeveless slip with it. So, I combined the bodice of the slip with the skirt of the gown. BUT, I wanted embroidery on the bodice. Of course, I couldn't find an embroidery pattern that I liked so I searched for clip art. I found what I liked and copied it onto the fabric. I spent most of yesterday morning embroidering and cutting out pattern pieces. The pattern is still under construction because I wanted to sew this gown like an heirloom sewing piece with all the seams hidden. I assumed that since this was a christening gown pattern that it would be that way, but I was wrong. I think I've worked out how to sew the bodice and how to line it so that the back of the embroidery won't be visible. Wish me luck on this one!

INVITATIONS - Even though either me or my mom has pretty much talked to everyone, I wanted to send invitations. While babysitting Superman, it took almost a whole day to print and assemble the invitaions. I finished them around 10:30 last night and they will go in the mail today.

It's all crazy, but it makes me happy. I'll post pics of the gown when it is done!