You are my November

As I look around to see the leaves finally changing colors here in South Texas, I wake up to chilly mornings where I'm on the edge of turning on the heat, but not quite ready. I wonder where another year has gone - it's November. This month is always nostalgic for me as I look back at the years. It's a celebration of the month we officially moved into our new home here in Texas, it's a celebration of life as we get ready for a birthday and it's the start of the best season ever.

The girls finished up October with trick-or-treats Halloween night. 

Miss Abbey kept me company handing out goodies to the neighborhood children

and was also my partner in crime as we munch our fair share of candy straight out of the hand out basket. Honestly, how do you tell an almost two year old she can't have any more candy without the creation of magnificent tears? Pumpkin carving was loads of fun, but Abbey decided that pumkin guts were "ewe-ewe-ewe". She stood on the front porch the whole time trying to steer clear of any flying pumpkin parts.

I finished up my Fall "Mama Bag" as I call it. Nothing is allowed to enter into it you see, unless it belongs to me and only me. No diapers, no dolls, no sippy cups, no snacks (unless they are mine), no "Mom will you hold on to this for me?" items..nada. I used Portabello Pixie's new Market Bag pattern and yes, I'm totally uncreative in picking out my fabrics for this bag. I loved the ones she used so much that I just went straight to those and I'm so happy with it. The ol' sewing machine didn't quite like sewing through five layers of fabric, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. If I win this, then the ol'sewing machine won't be hollering at me any more.

The next sewing project was going to be Miss Abbey's birthday dress, but I think we'll make a few baby hats first. Check over on Mama to Mama (Soule Mamas new website) for details of this very worthwhile project. Tis the season to give back and who could be more deserving than another mother. We're all connected by this wonder called motherhood. Living here, where we are planted, it sometimes seems surreal that somewhere else there is great pain, heartache and even violence towards mothers. As part of our living mindfully of others, I hope that my girls will help me with this project and maybe we'll even try another one in the process.

Oh - if you haven't already voted, then GO VOTE! 

x0~Lisa

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Wow - that's about all there is to say. Such a talented lady and generous offer. My girls would swoon over such a dress if it were to arrive at our house. Can't you just hear the little "oohing" and "aahhing" - don't forget the little screams of delight too!

Speaking of Halloween costumes, I'm about to sew up a cheerleader outfit for my little Allie (4). She'll look very sweet in piggie tails and pom poms. That's of course unless we win the Marie-Therese gown! :)

~Lisa

The Wind

A cold front blew through this week bringing lovely weather, perfect park days and cool nights. This is the conversation I had with my sweet 4 yr old daughter:

Little A: Mom, is God the wind?

Me: Well, God makes and brings us the wind.

Little A: God IS the wind!

Me: You are right, God is the wind.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Lisa

12 weeks to Christmas?!

So I've been informed that there are now 12 weeks until Christmas. It's probably less than that already. Time to start those lists! What are you giving this holiday season? I know, I know - it seems way to early to start thinking about it. Starting early saves a ton of money and planning later on though. I tend to be a type A personality but I try so hard to use my left brain! I'm a left brain wannabe.

October is the month to find great deals. I often check the clearance section at the end of the aisles in Target. As they put out their "Christmas" toys, many others are marked down. In an effort to give more handmade items this year, we'll be visiting the fabric store often. My oldest daughter said they have 12 fat quarters for $10. - she's making skirts for American Girl dolls to give as gifts. We adapted the quick skirt pattern to fit dolls and it looks very cute! The crafting/sewing table we refinished (found it for gratis!) is certainly to be a focal point of our holiday gift making.

Wellness baskets are on my list to make - I wonder who the lucky receiver might be? Filled with "take care of YOU" items like a rice heat therapy bag, boo-boo bag, eye pack for headaches, and some yummy herbal items like Kerry's Herbal Miracle Salve (this stuff rocks!). Maybe I'll throw in some Baby's Bottom Butter too - we had a craze this Spring/Summer when news hit the US that this cream was used as a woman's facial cream. I couldn't keep the Moondance Soaps version of the cream on our shelves. It was pretty funny watching how much people were buying actually - not in a ha-ha sort of way, but a good way!

So what are you making as gifts? I need ideas!

Off to a La Leche League meeting this morning. I've been a LLL Leader for many years now and it is still something I enjoy. Seeing all the mamas and new babies, answering their questions, and watching the mother-to-mother support is something I never get tired of. The hard part is getting everyone out the door, school work packed up for the older girls to school on the go and keeping the "mama I'm hungry" at bay during the meeting - that means snacks!

~Lisa

Goodbye - Hello!

You can find me over on my new blog - The Full Circle Mother.



Why the new blog? I wanted something personal to record the happenings of our family, but I still wanted to keep the blog for my business as well. So I created The Cloth Diaper Blog and The Baby Wearing Blog to help educate and inform on those topics. Links to both are over on the Full Circle Mother now. See you there!



xo~Lisa

aka - the Full Circle Mother

The Shack

Finished reading "The Shack" this week and wow - what a powerful book. I highly recommend it, especially for anyone struggling with fear or sadness in their life. While I didn't feel that way going into the book, it surely made me realize many things even though the book itself is fiction. Plus, don't we all know someone who is struggling with sadness in some form or another. The great part about this book, is that you can turn the sad situation in the book into anything else - like a cancer diagnosis, loss of a job, fear of dying even.

One thing I am taking away from the book is "love" - or more like "loving". I want to put verbs into my living (see how I made that a verb instead of the noun "life") and by pouring more love into everything I do I will see it in others lives, especially my children. Most mothers probably wonder how they could ever love their children more than they do at this very moment. I feel the exact same way. I love them unconditionally, with all my heart. By changing love from a noun to a verb, we will be loving them in ways we haven't before. By doing, instead of having, we will reap the rewards of wonderful children and our lives will always be blessed by them.

xo~Lisa

Weekend Sewing

My favorite season is finally arriving here (although slowly) in South Texas. While we have to endure some really hot days in the summer, it all comes full circle in the Fall and Winter when we have the most wonderful weather. I just love the cool mornings and beautiful days! I used to bundle my girls up in jackets, turtle necks and warm pants when we lived in Virginia, but here they can just go out in almost the same clothes year long. Our one week of winter doesn't last long enough here.

This weekend the girls and I hit the outlets to get a few pieces of Fall clothes for them. I made a pledge to not buy any "new" clothes for the two little ones (4yrs and 22months) this Fall season so the only new outfits they will have will come from being hand-made. The two little ones have bins full of hand-me-downs from sisters and cousins. The only thing that I will need to buy is some shoes probably.

I sewed Baby A her first new handmade set this weekend using the Oliver + S free skirt pattern for the skirt and hand appliqued the t-shirt (from Old Navy). If the day is colder, this set has a matching long sleeve shirt with fabric covered buttons and a cute set of baby legs! Baby Legs are great for our weather. The Fall/Winter days always start out chilly, so Baby A can wear her baby legs to keep her legs warm and as the day grows warmer, we can just pull them off.

I hit the jackpot at the local fabric store this weekend too! My local Quilt Haus has the cutest fabric so I always end up wandering around the store thinking up more projects in my head while I'm there. Anyway, I stuck to my list (some flannel for jammies) and was rewarded at the check out with a $20 off coupon for my next visit! Woohoo! That's a good coupon in my book! Can't wait to go back and use it.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

xo~Lisa