Anticipation

This Spring is full of anticipation for our family as we wait (and wait some more) for our new baby boy to be born. Such a hard time for an expectant mother these last few days.... How is it that time flys once they are here, but the time leading up to the moment of their birth seems to go by minute by minute. My mind is consummed with every change my body makes and wondering if today when I woke up will be my last day pregnant. Will today end with my holding my new baby in my arms?

This week has been named the "relaxing week" by myself and my girls as we look for anything and everything to do to relax before the baby comes. In doing so, you know I'm secretely hoping that the relaxing will bring about labor and end in a new baby in my arms. Yesterday, we met friends for coffee and smoothies, a little shopping (for the girls), a walk (of course!) and some picture taking in a quaint town near by. Thus the new blog header! My Melissa took the picture of my baby belly. We ended our morning outing at the newest bakery in town - the Cupcakery! Mmmmmmm....really, really good cupcakes. I have been so good about my sugar intake this pregnancy but with just a few days to go here, I think a cupcake splurge is perfectly okay.

As I fill my days with relaxing, I'm reminded in this space how much I like to write down what is happening in our lives. So I'm hoping to be back again this week, writing and waiting. Baby Boy's room is all done...want a sneek peak? Maybe another idea on how to spend a relaxing Spring day waiting for baby?

Happy Earth Day too! Let's all get outside to enjoy Mother Earth and her beauty today.

~Lisa

Donut making Sunday

We made these today....I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Mmmmmm... glazed.

Shake, shake the bag filled with cinnamon sugar and donuts - a perfect job for a child.

Abbey says, "Want one?". She ate her weight in donut holes. That used to be my favorite part too. Mmmmmm....

Sunday cooking is so much fun!

~Lisa

Time to sew?

I sold my business, Full Circle Baby, today and its bittersweet. So good on many levels and exciting for the new owners yet somehow I want to eat ice cream and chocolate. Oh, and I want to sew. I had no idea when I started my natural baby product business how far it would go and grow and now here we are entering a new stage and letting it go.

Could it be I'm trading one "baby" for another "baby"? One more precious, cute and cuddly? I do hope so and that freeing myself up a little bit leads to some sewing time around here. So many ideas and always so little time - but maybe now there will be time to sew.

Stay tuned.

~Lisa

A New Year - New Schedule

It's time to get back into the swing of things around our homeschool now that the holidays are over. Our "daily schedule" needed some revamping - by "schedule" I really do mean a loosely followed schedule, but we try to make sure we get to everything each day (Mon - Thurs). Fridays are fun, stay in our pjs, watch a movie day for now, unless we get behind, then we'll have to step it up!

Here's a glimpse at my homeschooling mornings: (Mel - 8th grade, Grace and Jessica - 4th grade, and Allie is just starting more Kindergarten work).

7-8am - older girls up, dressed, beds made, brush teeth, morning chores, eat breakfast (most of the time they skip breakfast and wait until later to eat something)

8-9am - Mel (GUM/Vocab/Composition - they alternate days), Grace & Jess (Spelling/Vocab)
By this time, we're trying to get my sleeping beauty, Allie, up for the day. She's always famished and eats breakfast with Abigail at this time.

9-9:15am - Mel, Grace and Jess (Handwriting/Copy Work)

9:30-10:30 - Math for all older girls (each gets time with Mom)

10:00 - Allie does her handwriting practice for 10 min.

10:15-10:30 - SNACKS (very important!)

10:30-10:45 - Mel or I work with Allie (Read Alouds or Phonics)

10:30-11:00 - Grace and Jess (GUM)

11:00 - noon - Mel (History), Grace and Jess (Literature), Allie (Math - 15 min)

Noon - LUNCH

12:30-1:30pm - Mel (Science), Grace and Jess (Science or History) and Allie/Abbey (Quiet Play)

Melissa finishes up Literature at night when she prefers to do her nightly reading.

See! I really could be done with school work by 1:30 each day...... Like I said, it is a loosely followed schedule - some days we do finish on time, other days - well, life gets in the way and I need to have the flexibility to let things go, give a hug or kiss a boo-boo, or enjoy some fresh Texas air. It's all a learning experience anyway - for all of us.

Pizza for dinner!

~Lisa

A Year in Words

I took the blog over to typepad this year - http://www.fullcirclemother.typepad.com, but I'm coming back over to this space. I just don't see a reason to pay for a blogging space right now. I love this space to write out my ideas, inspirations and to keep track of the places I enjoy visiting as well.

Taking some time at this year end to clear out the cobwebs, start fresh and keep the happiness flowing in our lives. So much happened to wear me down this past Fall and I miss my Dad dearly. I wouldn't have traded the time I spent at his bedside for anything. I'm ready now for the new year to ring in and I can't wait until we welcome our new baby this Spring. I'm closing my store up for now as well to try and keep myself focused on my family. After five years, it's my baby as well and I can't bear to sell it to someone else, so closing is the answer. Who knows what the future holds for Full Circle Baby, but I'll always be a full circle mother - because of my children and what I have learned being their mother.

See you soon - next year! :)

~Lisa

Movie Night

As a little girl, we would come home from church on Sunday and watch "old" movies. You know the ones - classic movies. I loved these movies while most of them starred Shirley Temple and seeing a little girl dance and sing like that was amazing to me. Besides, she was so cute! 

I've recently revived my interest in classic movies and we are having such fun watching them The girls are either entertained by the "old" times or bored and walk away. What they like to watch most though are episodes of "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch"! Netflix is keeping us in continuous supply of these fun (sometimes corny) episodes. I do like how the girls are getting a glipse of the past by watching these shows. They think some of it is really funny  - "really, they used to say "groovy" Mom?" or "look at their clothes!"

Here's a few "classic movies" I've enjoyed watching recently:

Pygmalion - Professor Huggins and flower girl turned duchess, Eiza Doolittle. He really loves her doesn't he?

Pillow Talk - Stars Doris Day and Rock Hudson. She falls in love with him but doesn't know he's the one who is really driving her bonkers. Catchy tune - loved it! 

Houseboat - Ah- Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. She ends up as his nanny and they fall in love.  Hey mister. Who me? Yes, you mister. (you've got to watch it to understand - I could watch this one over and over)

People Will Talk  - Another Cary Grant movie. Very interesting. Unwed mother, doctor ethics, love, suicide, even talk of how grocery stores are starting to smell like a drug store. All from a movie that came out in 1951. 

Young at Heart - Ol' blue eyes - Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. Who will she end up with? Great beach scenes, sisterly love & jealousy, true love.  

We always need a snack to go with our movies and one of our favorites is popcorn. Not just any popcorn. We learned this from a friend and it has become an easy go to snack for movie watching. We pop some popcorn in coconut oil (old fashioned way - on the stove), then toss it with some melted butter and salt. Yummy! You could also mix some coconut oil and butter together to put on microwave popcorn.

Happy watching!

~Lisa

So long gone

Poor, poor neglected blog. Life has taken me away from you for so long. 

We've been busy finishing up our school work and having fun playing too! The girls and I are ready for a break from the day to day school work but we had lots to finish up before moving forward. Boxes from K12 are arriving daily loaded with our new school materials for next year already! I'm not ready! Well, I'm a little ready or they wouldn't have been ordered and here right? So the planning part is done, but the implementing part won't start until the Fall. Until then, I think the boxes can just gather a little dust in my closet. My oldest daughter was so excited for her new box to arrive that she already has it unpacked and put away. I remember those days... 

Otherwise, we've just been busy living here and traveling some too. It's really hot already and Summer doesn't officially arrive until later this month. Swimming is essential now and we are finding ways to stay cool. 

I've been busy sewing too since my new best friend arrived - we'll just call her Elna. The Weekend Sewing book by Heather Ross has so many fun projects and I'm working my way through them. This is the smocked sundress from the book that I made for my four year old. 

She loves it and wears it almost every day - except for when I steal it away from her to wash it. I think I know what else I'm making her for her birthday next month...hum. 

Happy weekend!

~Lisa