sneak peak

My friend Jess did an AWESOME job with all the graphics for my new Etsy shop! I've got the shop set up, now I just need to finish some sewing and list some items! 

snow day

The kids were thrilled to get an inch or so of snow over the weekend.  Well, Addie not so much- she lasted about two minutes before she was in tears asking to be carried back into the house, but everyone one else loved it.

The spent most of the afternoon Friday and all day Saturday outside.

The snow was a little dry for packing, but by mid day Saturday they were able to get a decent snowman made. (They also had the beginnings of an igloo going, but I only have pictures of them kicking it down Sunday after much of the snow had melted.)

We couldn't find any sticks for the arms, so the kids took turns being the arms for the camera :)

Yes, I know Micah is wearing crocks in the snow- we don't typically get a lot of snow around here, so Addie (the one who hated the snow) is the only one who has a pair of hand-me-down snow boots!

figuring it all out

I am trying to slow down a bit, enjoy all the little things, and not constantly feel like I've got something I have to be doing (not an easy task when your homeschooling 6 kids and trying to run a business!).  As I result, business stuff is often getting pushed aside for every day life.  My friend Dianna  and I spent a few hours last week sewing some lounge sets.  I took these one's over to Kitsch this week, but we are hoping to put some in our new Etsy shop soon. (can't wait to show you the beautiful artwork my friend Jess is doing for us!)

I also made a few more camera straps for Kitsch. 

I love the Matryoshka dolls.  You will definitely be seeing more of those girls :)

as good as it gets

Ever try and take a picture of six siblings?

Not a task for the weak at heart!

over the weekend (part 3)

Adelaide turned 3 on Monday.

My baby girl is growing up!  Those big brown eyes are piercing.

She is such a joy to watch...

quiet, thoughtful and oh so cute!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

over the weekend (part 2)

My mom and dad came down for Emmaline's baptism.  We missed having the rest of the family present for her baptism, but were excited to  be able to have her baptized at our church (we traveled back to MD, to the church I grew up in, to have the other kids baptized).

My mom made the gown.  All 6 of my children have worn it and their names will soon be sewn into the slip and hopefully our grandchildren will all wear this gown too.

It was nap time and poor Emmy was so tired!  As soon as we got her out of that gown and laid her down she fell fast asleep!

Another special moment, my dad was able to say the prayer after the baptism. This is something he has done at the baptisms of all 18 of his grandchildren!

over the weekend (part 1)

I am playing catch up and spreading out the happenings of our weekend over 3 posts so I don't totally overwhelm you!  First up, the greatly dreaded anticipated room swap!  After more than a year of talking about where we were going to put baby Emmaline once she outgrew the cradle we finally came up with a plan last week and moved the girls to their new spaces on Friday.
Adelaide and Emmaline moved to Regan's old room (actually, Addie will get this room to herself for a little bit as I am just not ready to move Emmy out of our room).

Addie also moved to her big girl bed!

Regan Moved in with Tallulah.  This move has been especially hard for Regan, but I am proud (most of the time) with how well she is taking it.  I know it is hard for an 11year old, who's used to her own room, to suddenly have to share with her 6 year old sister.

In an effort to add at least a little bit of excitement to the move my mom and I took the girls shopping for new bedding.  They each picked out new sheets and comforters and got those fuzzy blue pillows you see bellow (on clearance at JC Penny).

I also found this desk on Craigslist that just happened to be a perfect fit for the small space at the end of Regan's bed!

mt. laundry

This is what happens in a family of 8 when you miss a day of laundry!  I don't mind washing the clothes, as long as everyone gets them to the laundry room, but as of last weekend I have officially boycotted folding laundry for anyone over the age of 5!  I am headed to Walmart to get each kid a small bin that their clothes will get separated out into upon leaving the dryer. From there it is up to them what becomes of their clean clothes, cause this mama is done staying up til 11pm folding laundry after it has sat, clean, in baskets, in the living room for day!  I honestly don't know why it has taken me this long to start moving the laundry chores to my completely capable children! (Brooke, if your reading, thanks for the individual laundry bin idea!)

in the mail

I fell in love with this necklace months ago when I saw it on Etsy and finally ordered it last week.  It came on Saturday and I LOVE it!  There are 3 Nest Pretty Things shops (kids, womans, and brides). This necklace came from the kids shop, I just asked her to make the chain longer (18").  I totally want to wear this every day!

just when I was starting to feel caught up...

Three new adult aprons for Kitsch (the shop in Norfolk where I sell some of my things)...

They are all reversible

This one is my favorite :)

I finished up these aprons last week and was finally feeling like I was caught up after the craziness of the holiday craft show season...

Until I got my sales report from Kitsch and found out they had sold almost all the camera straps I had given them along with most of the size 8-10 kids aprons they had (YAY! I mean, this really is a good problem to have).
Then I had a friend ask if I would be willing to give sewing lessons to her daughter (which will be great b/c it just happens to be one of Regan's best friends, so I will probably teach them together, which means weekly friend time for Regan and it will force me to stop and work with R on her sewing!)
And finally (I hope, I don't think I can handle much more!) a friend brought by 4 boxes of blank T's and yoga pants (infant and toddler sized) that her cousin wanted to sell (long story short, she had her own business selling baby/toddler clothes, blankets etc. but due to some unexpected circumstances and an international move was clearing out her stash).  The stuff is REALLY nice quality, all made in America and some of it is Organic too! So, it looks like I will be adding something new to my shop in the next few months! 

Despite feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, I am pretty excited about all the making and creating in my future :)  Hopefully I can still find some time to pop in here every now and then too!

finally found some time to sew for my own family :)

After a week of doing pretty much nothing, I finally dug into my stash last weekend to work on some projects I had been planning for my girls since the summer!  These corduroy skirts were supposed to be for the fall... well, at least I finished them before summer!

I fell in love with this fabric when I saw it in my friends stash.  I ordered a yard for myself, but couldn't bare to cut it up, so I paired it with some cozy minky and Made Emmy a blanket.

Things have been so crazy the last few months I keep sewing new things and forgetting to photograph them... like the ornaments I made for the kids for Christmas. They are all packed up now, but I do have this picture I took awhile back.  The squirrel and the raccoon were for the boys and I finished up these dolls and made them into ornaments for the girls. 

Just for fun, Max and Micah dressed up when we went to see the Hobbit last weekend- Micah was supposed to be one of the dwarfs, Ori (although he's not too convincing- he needed a bit more hair, I  think) and Max was Bilbo (he even wore flip flops and painted hair on his feet with Regan's face painting set she got for Christmas).