Yummy!

Guess what I got for Christmas from my sweet hubby?! Chocolate Lollipop fabric! Anna Maria Horner's fabric is soooo beautiful and I've been eyeing this fabric for some time now but it wasn't available through my local quilt shop. Truly, I'm a novice seamstress but throughly enjoy knitting and sewing and it helps put a little bit of calmness into my world. And sometimes just a little bit is all I need! HA!

So I found this sweet german dress pattern (Farbenmix pattern):

There's an American store you can buy the pattern from - http://www.banberryplace.com/. Not expensive at all and they shipped it really fast.

So this is what part of my Christmas present turned into:

Front and back views:

This dress is really easy - trust me - if I can do it any beginner could too! The directions (which there isn't much of) took me a while to understand but once they clicked it was simple.

So for something to put under the dress I'm cooking it up now -

Happy, Happy New Year! Cheers!

~xo Lisa

Surrounded by love

Did you ever wonder how it feels to be surrounded by love? How about five girls who love you and you them more than life itself? My little blessings & me....

Merry Christmas

Wow! Another year is coming to a close. What a year it has been too! Time to look back, reflect and be thankful for an amazing life and year. Looking forward to a wonderful year ahead in 2008!

We have a new baby coming.... not my own (got you there didn't I!) but my closest friend is due in June. I can't wait and I'm so excited for her and her family! We'll surely be getting lots of new baby snuggles and spoiling the new little one with soft goodies.

I'm thinking (& praying!) about bringing my twins home to school with us this coming year as well. Sometimes just the thought of them all in the house together overwhelms me, but I'm feeling led to do this with them. Changing their hearts and bringing them back home to learn will surely be a good thing. Busy...but good.

It's time to add the finishing touches to our Christmas. There are peanut butter chocolates to be made (an annual tradition here) and presents to wrap for all the children. Hoping for a few colds days to cuddle by the fire place in some strong arms too.

We'll see you again in 2008! Merry Christmas!

xo Lisa

Firsts

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was wonderful - relaxing and eating....what could be better?! I spent time reflecting on last year as well. You see I was hugely pregnant last Thanksgiving, past my due date and waiting for labor to begin. Lucky for my Mom (who is always in charge of Thanksgiving dinner), our baby waited through dinner but decided to come early the next morning. How nice to let Mom get all nourished before the labor marathon, right?

I'm sure all women look back at their births and when that first birthday rolls around it makes it all so nostalgic. The first time you notice a contraction, the first time you tell your husband "it's time", first time you hold that precious miracle in your arms and the first time you gaze into each other's eyes. Then all the "firsts" of that first year! I love watching my girls grow and the first year is filled with wonderment as a baby looks at the world for the first time. The first year has flown by for us this time but it never fails to be a wonderful time even though it is not our "first" time around.

So Happy Birthday to our little Sweetness! We can't wait to see what the world has in store for her and we feel so blessed to be her parents.

Family - ahhh....

Normally when I take all my girls to the grocery store with me we get all sorts of comments from strangers. Most of them, well....they just aren't very nice. We get a lot of "Are they all yours?". Of course they are, but I have yet to come up with a snazzy come back to that one besides the "Oh no, I just picked up a few on my way here!". We've even had a few "OMG! - They can't be all yours?!" - well then who's are they then?! lol

Today we decided to snag Grace and Jessica from school on our way to lunch, we've just been missing them now that Mel is homeschooled full time. We needed to stop by the grocery store. I sort of keep up a guard and am ready for the comments now. So in the produce section are several older ladies doing their shopping. I try by best to keep my broad under control and out of the way - sometimes it's easier than others. One of these ladies catches my eye and I can see it coming - but she is smiling so that was a good sign! She asks "Is this your family?". "Yes, it is.", I say. "What a beautiful family you have", she says. Ah....that was so nice. My family. Yes, they are all mine and my beautiful family. That was so refreshing and helped to put my mind and heart where it needed to be today.

Halloween is over but the candy remains. Need I say more??? Allie has a huge sweet tooth - she's in heaven! The girls had a blast trick or treating this year and some surprise friends showed up to go around with us. Allie was too cute racing door to door in her princess costume. She calls herself "Princess" these days.

From the top - Grecian Princess (M), Fairy (J), Witch (G), Lil' pumkin (A), Princess (A).

With sprinkles on top

Happy Birthday to Grace and Jessica! We started out the day with a sprinkly treat to let them know we knew it was their special day. You only turn 8 years old once. I can't believe it's been 8 years since my twin girls were born. What an incredible day that was! We celebrated this weekend by taking them camping which turned out to be quite the trip.

It's such fun watching the girls explore and create adventures in nature. We just never get that opportunity living in suburbia. It doesn't come without it's bumps and bruises though. The girls first decided to pick some prickly pears off a cactus - ouch! Each and every one of them got a hand full of prickly thorns. Doubt they will do that again....but you never know! That was some hike though. Tested my patience, but it was a beautiful view and we saw a whole bunch of deer. Thankfully, no snakes! After the hike, we all were ready to go swimming in the lake but not before my oldest decided to take a tumble off a see saw (remember those?). Yep, she broke her wrist in two places. Lucky Dad got to take her to the emergency room (he's getting a tour of the Hill Country ERs). Fortunately, it's not a bad break and after a few weeks she'll be good as new. Unforunately, it's her right arm - the one she does everything with (write, eat, wipe herself, etc. etc.!).

Grace and Jessica loved the fun, little ballet bags I made them. They needed something to carry their ballet shoes to and from class. We filled them with goodies of course!

Now the laundry is done (not folded though - that's tomorrow's work). You would not believe the laundry that is created by a weekend camping with a family of 7. Someone might think I've buried a child in the pile that sits on top of the bed. Alas, they are all safe and sound, all tucked in their little beds, snoozing and dreaming like little girls should.

'Til next time,
Lisa

Giving it your all

There are times when I feel I fall short of my expectations for myself and wonder what I could have done better. Other times I settle for less for the overall betterment of the whole. Being perfect is not the question, but giving it your all to feel good about what you have accomplished is. Everyday I strive to give it my all and most of the time it is for others. This isn't something I want patted on the back for at all and I guess the only reason I'm writing about it is that this is also something I'm trying to instill in my children. It certainly is a balancing act trying to run a business and household. We've always prided ourselves on customer service - making it our top priority and sometimes I feel like my hands get tied if I'm relying on someone else - like a manufacturer who just can not get products out in a timely manner. So then I just do the best I can - meaning wait and then I feel terrible. What to do?

So I'm taking some things into our own hands to try and balance this out. We've started producing our own Simply Medium Prefolds so that they are always in stock. We've listened to the tales of overly bulky diapers and how parents didn't like it or thought their baby would grow up bow legged! Since so many babies stay in the medium size for a very long time (many through potty learning) having prefolds that fit makes sense. Of course, you can always trim your own prefolds too! I'm always looking for ways to save money, so I don't hesitate to pass that along to my customers. It's tough being a parent on a budget.

Speaking of budget - I think it needs a new name. Something like "money forecast" might be a better term. "Budget" brings up all sorts of feelings resembling being strapped or tied down. When really we are trying to forecast where our money is going. I might have to bring this up to Dave Ramsey!

Melissa is surely giving it her all right now. She's making me so proud! She's taking up sewing little things and I often find her cooking things up in the kitchen these days. Her school work is also coming along nicely and she just aced her first literature assessment. Way to go Mel!
She and I are working on a little something to give to the twins for their birthday. I'll have to post pics of them when they are done. My house has just been a blur of creativity these past few weeks. The old sewing machine has knocked out a few really pretty diapers for Abbey too in Freshcut fabric. Sewing diapers has got to be the funnest thing I've done in a long time. Such satisfaction comes from creating something yourself. And making it pretty helps! Seriously - when something gets changed as frequently as a diaper, isn't it nice to look at something pretty while you do it??

~Lisa

Baby Legs

Do you have the cutest little baby legs? You know the type - the kind that you just want to squeeze! Miss Abbey has them and she's so excited to get into our newest Baby Legs shipment!

Baby Legs make for quick diaper changes and are so nice for the cool Fall weather (whenever it actually gets here in South Texas - but that's another story!). Abbey's holding the "Rye" print - but they come in the classic solid colors (red, black, ivory, brown, etc) and many more cute prints!

The new Batik Handpainted Moby Wrap - finally!

I've promised a pic of this for a long time now and finally got one today! yay! Don't you love it when you finally finish something that was left hanging? I can close another part of my brain now - which is a good thing because I need all the room I can find to remember everything I need to remember these days.

So the new Moby - here it is! I just love it and so does Miss Abbey! It's the same nice stretchy t shirt fabric as the solid colors, but handpainted with pretty flowers and vines. Plus, it was tie dyed which adds a nice element to the wrap itself. Definitely a "treat yourself" baby carrier for those of us who carry our babies everywhere! Way to go Moby Wrap! These are now available in our store - Full Circle Baby.

The End of Summer

Summer is over now that school is officially here. Sigh.... I'll miss those lazy days of being able to sleep in (right!) - now seriously as a Mom of 5 sleeping in just never happens. But 7:30 am was the norm in the summer and now it's 6:30am once again. My twins had their first day of second grade today and while I was teary eyed driving away from school this morning, they never looked back. They just jumped out of the car with a kiss and "Love you Mom" and walked arm and arm into school together. Apparently, second graders don't need their Mom to walk them to class on the first day of school. Today began my second attempt at home schooling as well. Yes, we have both in our home - homeschoolers and public schoolers. Our oldest daughter entered 6th grade today via K12 homeschool. She did great! It took us awhile to get into everything this morning but we finished what we started today and she is excited about learning once again. Success! Our 3 year old also is "home schooling" with us. She wanted so much to be part of "school" so we've created her preschool here for her. She started with a letter (A), number (1) and color (brown by her choosing!) of the week. Allie strung cheerios on yarn for a "snack necklace" this morning and then ate it! lol Little Sweetness (our baby) loved being able to nap today without being on the go. She snuggled in her Moby Wrap (the new Handpainted Batik one) while we got started this morning. I love how close she feels when I put her in the Moby and she just rests so sweetly.

The last week of Summer was filled with days of swimming, parks and friends! Such fun! Here are the girls in all their glory last week.

Ah - to be young and carefree!

Knitting and Crocheting

I've finally finished my first knit wool soaker. It's for baby of course! Knitting has become one of my favorite pastimes - it's so relaxing. It can be done in the car or late at night when I just need to unwind. Time is something I'm always laking in however so when I do finish a project I'm so happy!

For this wool soaker I used the Tiny Birds free soaker pattern.

She does a great job outlining the pattern as it is worked which is great for us beginners who need a visual. ;) The one thing I did want to add was the ruffled edge but I really wanted something a little simplier than what the pattern called for in case we use it under clothing. I'm a novice at crochet too, but I found another visual online to help with adding a crochet edging to the knit soaker.

I chose some lions brand wool for this soaker since it was my first attempt. Didn't want to use something really nice until I got it down but even my knitting guru and "teacher" says she's very impressed! This same friend said this project was very ambitious of me. lol Guess I'm the ambitious type - I go overboard a lot!! Doesn't the soaker look cute with the funky Sweet Mama Small Sugar top I got her?

I'm working on some embellished diapers with Heather Bailey's Fresh Cut fabric. I love prefolds - soft Indian ones are my favorites. Cotton is cool and natural, lasts forever and is fun to dress up. Fresh Cut fabric is just beautiful and reminds me of summer fun. Baby will sure to love being dressed up in some of my recent creations.

Amazing trip!

Wow! The LLLI conference was amazing. The Founders of LLL are amazing women whom I will forever be grateful. The conference speakers were amazing. I heard Dr. and Martha Sears, Dr. Robert Sears, Dr. Thomas Hale, Chele Marmet, Dr. James McKenna, Nils Bergman, Ina May Gaskins....amazing! I even had my picture taken with Billy Dean! lol He sang "Let Them Be Little" at the Gala Dinner Monday night.



The exhibit hall was filled with many wonderful vendors. LLLI has a new line of "intimates" which I was very impressed with. Who knew we could wear strapless dresses or spaghetti strap shirts and still nurse a baby?? You can with their strapless nursing bra!

















I had the opportunity to meet some of the owners of the products we carry at Full Circle Baby as well. Moby Wrap and Swaddlebees were at the conference. I also got a sneek peak at some new products! Keep watching for those! Moby Wrap has a new knit nursing wrap that is amazing. So soft and perfect for those chilly nights or air conditioned rooms. They also have a gorgeous new Moby Wrap coming out. It's hand painted and my favorite color - blue! Yes, I'll probably "have" to have one! Simone and Celeste of Moby Wrap are so nice and I'm glad we got to meet them in person.



It's good to be home, though I have a day filled with laundry, unpacking, catching up on emails, packing orders, etc. The girls and Jeff were a sight for sore eyes at the airport and almost tackled Abbey and I as we arrived home! They loved the American Girl Place gifts we brought back and Jeff hid his Ghiradelli dark chocolate right way! lol Chicago is a nice city and I wouldn't mind going back anytime!

Chicago here I come!

I've been looking forward to this trip for a couple of months now. The La Leche League International Conference is being held in Chicago and I've always wanted to go. These conferences are only held every other year and this is the big 50th anniversary celebration! All the founders are still alive and will be there too. Amazing.. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

So my husband will stay home with the 4 older girls and the baby and myself head off for a well deserved (if I do say so myself) vacation. I've been running Full Circle Baby for over 3 years now and we were just saying last night how amazing it's been. I get to meet so many wonderful parents and cute kids! Just thinking about all the little cloth diapered bums we've helped cover makes it all worthwhile. Three years may not seem long to many, but in the internet "cloth diapering" world, I'm almost a veteran now. lol So many businesses come and go, but we started this business and plan to stay for a long time. We've grown a lot in this short time too. From our first cloth diapers, Fuzzi Bunz, we've added so many more - but only our personal favorites.

I do use and try out everything first before I decide whether to add it to the store. There have been many that haven't made it - believe me. I'm quite picky! One thing that always gets to me is where a product is manufactured. USA or North American made is very important to me as well as supporting other work at home moms (WAHMs). Staying home with my children is a top priority in our family. I've had to make some compromises along the way and no matter how hard I try to get away from products made in China - I just can't do it completely. But I do try.

You may find this blog to be ramblings of a Mom with 5 children. You may find some insightful information about products we offer in our store. We do love what we do here at Full Circle Baby and think our customers are also our friends - so we'll treat you right!

Okay - so I'm off for a week and I'll return soon from my vacation - from work, from the children, from my house, from cooking dinner, from laundry (okay - so I am taking cloth diapers with me!)...you get the picture!

Wow- I have a blog!

Like I really have time to blog right? Well at least I got it set up. I'll have to write later as the baby is now awake. And she's so precious! ~Lisa - Mother, Owner, Full Circle Baby