Baby C's Circus Birthday Bash

I debated over and over again whether or not I should have a birthday bash for my Baby C.  Things are just so BUSY lately with taking care of the 3 kids, (especially with no school in the summer), and work.  The thought of planning a party, and prepping my house, food, etc was a bit overwhelming.  But, what I kept coming back to is that I did it for the other 2, so I have to do one for him too!  And I'm glad I did.  He actually turned one today, but we decided to have the party last weekend.  Everything turned out amazingly cute.  And most importantly, he loved it and all the guests seemed to have a good time!

We did a circus theme.  This is the only picture I got of him in his shirt...he was on the go pretty much the entire party!  Can you tell I'm kind of on a chevron kick lately???

All the desserts, done by my friend Catherine, were amazingly beautiful (and delicious).

Catherine's Cakery

 I ordered these empty peanut bags and popcorn bags from an Etsy shop.  They were a HUGE hit...the kids loved grabbing their own bag and cracking open the peanuts.  This did require lots of peanut shell vacuuming after the party though :)

I also thought it'd be so cute to have little mini cotton candy sticks for the kids.  I found a couple of Etsy shops that sell cotton candy in individual bags, but the prices were astronomical.  Cute idea...but I couldn't justify spending all of that money on them.  So I was going to rule it out, but then I saw these little 1 quart tubs of cotton candy at Walmart for suuuper cheap.  I had some of these paper straws (also from an Etsy shop), and decided to stick a little puff of the cotton candy on top of them.  Aren't they cute?  They were cute while they lasted.  I did them about 2 hours before the party started, and by the time people arrived, they were melted down to almost nothing :(  But at least I have the picture! And less sugar and food dyes for the kids :)

 Animal crackers for a take-home treat:

I found these cute little "no-spill" milk cartons on Etsy too.  This seller was amazing.  She punched holes in the tops of the cartons to fit the straws, and also did these adhesive personalized labels.  She gave me a couple different options for the graphics, and her communication was great.  The product was also great! Here is the link to her shop:
3SweetMemories

 Baby C's picture progression from newborn to 12 months...such a handsome boy!

 The birthday boy, eating a potsticker, and munching on a rib.  This boy will eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING

What I thought was the coolest part of the party is we hired a balloon twister to come entertain for about an hour.  He was INCREDIBLE.  I'm not talking about swords and dog and flower balloons...this guy is a true balloon ARTIST.  He made Spider Man, an octopus, Tinker Bell, Ariel, Sponge Bob, sharks, bicycles, Nemo blowing bubbles, and many more!

 Even the adults were entertained!

 Cake time!

After a fun, entertaining party, the kids all put their jammies on and laid down to watch a movie.  How long do you think these perfect angels all laid here like this?

Rocky Mountain High

My shop was closed last week while I was away in Colorado.  My baby sister graduated from Regis University (which makes me feel super old), so the whole family went out there to celebrate her big accomplishment.  We also took a few days after the graduation to visit the mountains in Estes Park.  I thought I had seen my last snow for a while after it snowed here in Saint Louis a few weeks ago...but I was wrong!  It was COLD and we had sporadic snow showers while we were there.  However, I guess the beauty of the mountains made up for it.  Here are a few pics from the trip.

Me and my beautiful sister

My sister painted all of these paintings on unfinished wood...so beautiful...and so talented!

My parents, my siblings (minus 1 brother), and my husband and kiddos at the graduation

We took a fun and beautiful train ride in a little town called Georgetown.  Big B loved going on a real train (as opposed to the Zoo train).  The view was amazing.  Here's the Georgetown Loop train site: http://georgetownlooprr.com/

Big B checking out the amazing view from our train car

I was so nervous on this bridge!

Little A was not a huge fan of the train.

One of the highlights of our trip...Chai at this coffee shop..Ahh.mazing.
My sister's BF, my mom, aunt, uncles, brother, and me

Me and my Buddy

Chillin in our cabin...Peek-A-Boo, Baby C!

My "big" kids...sitting on top of a petrified tree trunk

Overwhelmed but Blessed...and Monogram Dress Sneak Peek

Ahh, my long lost blog!  I've been both blessed and overwhelmed with so much work these last few months!  Out of all my designs, holiday ones keep me the busiest.  And ever since Halloween last Fall, the holidays hit so fast, one after another...Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter (which came super early this year!).  It's been quite a challenge fulfilling the holiday orders, plus getting new designs ready for the next holiday, on top of regular birthday/new baby orders and answering e-mails.  It's crazy how much time it takes to answer e-mails!

I offer a couple of different ways to shop Amylou Baby.  People can order through my website www.amyloubaby.com, or through my Facebook page, through my Etsy shop, or even just by sending me an e-mail.  Of all those different options, Etsy has brought in the most sales for me.  I had my first Etsy sale in April of last year.  Over those first few months, I made about 25 Etsy sales, just offering tutus, hair accessories, and hand sewn appliques.  Then once I got the hang of my embroidery machine, I started listing personalized items starting in September.  From September through the rest of the year, my total number of Etsy sales shot up to 100 total for the year...which I thought was a lot!

After Christmas, I thought I'd finally have some time to breathe.  How busy could January possibly be?  People were done spending money for the next month or so, right?  Wrong.  My total sales in January were just over 60, and in February 40...already surpassing my total sales for the entire previous year.  And these were just the Etsy sales!  I know this may not seem like a lot when just looking at the numbers, but considering most of my time is spent taking care of my 3 little ones (all under 4), it was difficult finding enough time to do it all.

So, like I said, I've been overwhelmed....but blessed.  And I'm so thankful for each and every sale.  It's been such a pleasure to work with all my wonderful customers to create all of these custom items for their loved ones!  Sometimes I converse with customers so much while working on their orders, that I feel like we're friends after it all! And I just love that about this kind of work!  And the absolute BEST part of it all is hearing feedback from people who are so happy about their purchases.  I love when I can put a smile on someone's face...especially hard working mommas!

So, to say thank you to all my customers, I'm going to do a Facebook giveaway next week (I'm so excited about this...I've been wanting to do one since I started my Facebook page!).  I'm thinking either one of these new monogrammed tank top dresses I'll be offering soon.  Or maybe a personalized July 4th/Summer shirt or onesie.  Let me know if you have a preference!

Here's a look at my newest creation:

Cherish Every Minute

I recently read a blog post about a mom's frustrated response to a reminder from a complete stranger to "enjoy every minute" of her motherhood because it goes by so fast.  I laughed as I related to this mom's negative response because I know how impossible it is to "enjoy every minute" of tantrums and sibling fighting.  Sometimes being a mom is not a very rewarding job.  I have spent hours preparing beautiful and nutritious meals for my kids only to have them complain about it and refuse to eat.  I try to nicely explain to my daughter why she can't push baby brother in his Jumperoo like he's in a swing only to have her spit in my face...literally.  I continue to interrupt my own sleep night after night as my infant refuses to close his eyes and get the sleep that he needs to be healthy and happy.  No, it's not always "rewarding".  And it's natural for us moms to get annoyed and even angry with all of the constant reminders from complete strangers to "enjoy every minute".

But sometimes these reminders are good.  And instead of resenting them, I have learned to try to be GRATEFUL for them.  Because with all the craziness of this same old everyday life, sometimes I lose site of the preciousness of life and I need the reminders.

My friend lost her baby last week and had to bury him today.  He was 12 months old....just learning how to move around and talk.  I think about the excitement she and her husband shared the day they found out they were pregnant, and again the day he was born.  I think about their joy when they saw his first smile and heard his first laugh, and the laughter they shared as they watched him joyfully smother his face with icing from his first birthday cake.  And my heart aches.  I think about how her arms are longing to hold him one last time...just feel that feeling of having him in her arms.  But the only way to feel it is to close her eyes and live the memory.  And my heart is forever changed.  Life really is short and precious.

The three children who live next door to me also experienced a great loss a few weeks ago, right before Christmas.  In just the split second of their mother losing control of her vehicle on the highway, their lives were forever changed.  She is in Heaven now, watching over them.  Her husband is now faced with the challenge of raising the kids by himself.  I'm sure they all think about the last time they spoke or embraced their mother, not realizing it would be the last.

And of course, there's Sandy Hook.  That was a day that made all parents hold our children a little tighter and give them a few more kisses when tucking them in at night.  Like many of you parents out there, I have pictured those children going through their normal morning routines, and giving their parents their last hugs and kisses as they headed off to school that day.

We take so much for granted, and life is short.  So, hold your babies tight.  Tell them over and over again how much you love them.  And really try to "enjoy every minute".  When they make a mess, be grateful that they are physically and mentally healthy enough to explore and have fun.  When they are nagging you to play with them or come see something when you're in the middle of something, think about what really should take priority.   When they are fussing and screaming, be grateful that you can hold and comfort them.  We're so blessed to have this precious time with our little ones, so let's go and try to cherish every minute of it.

In Loving Memory of Oliver "Ollie" Hinkle

Facebook Page in Memory of Ollie

Time to Re-Address My Goals

I've been totally slacking on my blog!  I always have so many ideas that I want to blog about, but can never find the time to sit and type them out :(  Things have been BUSY around here lately.  Amylou Baby sales have skyrocketed starting early October with Halloween items, then Christmas sales hit...on top of normal baby and birthday sales.  There was a time two weeks ago when I had a stack of 20 orders waiting to be completed within a week's time!  A normal workload for me is no more than 5 standing orders at a time, which is even sometimes difficult to do.  It hasn't been easy managing all of this while being a full time at-home mommy to my 4-year-old, 2-year-old, and 4-month-old.  I often scroll through my "Finished Work" album on Facebook and wonder how the heck I got all of it done.  Plus it just makes me feel good seeing all the stuff I have gotten done...maybe I should start taking pictures of all my clean folded laundry, cooked meals, and bags of dirty diapers and put them in an album too!  Just kidding...but the more I think about this the more I like the idea...

As my work load has greatly increased over the last few months, I've been forced to think about what my goals are and to think about whether or not starting this company was a good idea.  My goal for starting this company was to eventually have a job that can provide supplemental income for my family - a job I can do from home while my kids are at school, for which I can dictate my own hours, and therefore be involved with their school.  It will be many years before they are all in full time school, but I wanted to start it early to have it pretty well established for when that time comes.   However, I also wanted to start it now rather than later for selfish reasons - I just love doing all of it and it makes me feel good about myself.

Sometimes people ask me how I can stay sane having this business while being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) too, but  believe it or not, the work actually KEEPS me sane...(and I pray a lot :) ).  Everything I make is a work of art to me.  It requires my creativity and skill, and all of my finished work feels like an accomplishment   This feeling of accomplishment is something that can easily go missing with being a SAHM.  We accomplish a lot of diaper changes, feeding, cleaning, life saving, etc, but it's never ending so it never feels like an accomplishment   Moms provide so much for their kids - even just by being in their presence and loving on them, but the results aren't seen right away.  There are no concrete finished products...children just keep growing and growing.

So, while I may not sleep as much as I used to (I have to do a lot of my work at night while the kids are asleep), I'm still going to keep going because I really just love what I do.  I love seeing happy faces when customers see their finished products, I love reading positive feedback on Etsy, I love e-mails from customers telling me how happy they are with their purchases, and I love doing "the work".  Most of all though, I love being able to do all of this while hanging out with these little munchkins all day.

Our September Getaway

As you may remember, I had a vacation status posted at my shop and on my Facebook page a couple weeks ago.  My family and I traveled to Wilmington, NC for my cousin's wedding.  My parents rented an awesome beach house right on the beach, and I got to spend the week before the wedding with them and all 4 of my siblings.  We all live very far away from each other, so it was AWESOME to spend a whole week together.  I have a brother in Korea, and one on St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), and a brother and sister both in Colorado.  I live in St. Louis, close to my mom and dad.  We don't even get to all spend Christmas together anymore because not everyone can come home.

The vacation was a blast - so much family, and fun, and good food.

Big B LOVED the beach.  He had a blast playing in the ocean waves and building sand castles.  But he had the most fun sitting at the water's edge and throwing the wet sand into the water pretending it was poop (thanks, Aunt Margaret, for teaching him that!).

Here's my other little beach bum, Baby C. (Little A was freaked out by the beach so there are no pictures of her out there.  She preferred the comfort of the house.)

A rare family photo.  Here's my little family, with my siblings and parents:

 My SIBLINGS and me!!! (we look like we're really sweet and nice here, but we're actually all being really sarcastic and fake for the picture.  We're silly like that.)

  My adorable parents:

 Jonathan and Lyndsay, the bride and groom:

 The wedding day was on Little A's 2nd birthday.  We took some time in the morning to go out for a special birthday breakfast.  Chris and I had crepes.  Little A preferred a cupcake:

Check out my hot date for the wedding!

This Too Shall Pass

WARNING: There may be some stuff in this post that is "TMI" (too much information) for some people in regards to birth, breastfeeding, and potential new baby difficulties!  Don't read if any of this scares you or grosses you out!

Baby C is 4 weeks old today.  I wish I could say the time has flown by, but it really hasn't.  I've had to remind myself many times that "this too shall pass".  These have been some of the most difficult weeks of my life.  Baby C is not an easy baby.  In fact, I would go so far as to describe him as the parent-dreaded C-word...colicky.  In addition to this, my precious Little A is hitting her "terrible twos", and she and 4-year-old Big B have gone from being like "peas and carrots" to "cats and dogs".  They take toys away from each other and tease each other, and it's been really tough finding the time and energy to be a referee while taking care of Baby C as well.  I know everyone's world is being rocked with the addition of a new baby, and I did anticipate this, but I guess I was just hoping that things wouldn't be as bad if I expected the worst.

To add to all of this craziness, it's been rough for me physically as well.  In addition to all the usual birth recovery and not much sleep, I had about 2 weeks of sore, bloody nipples from breastfeeding, and a bad virus the last few days that hit me with a high fever and also somehow affected my breast, which made for some painful...no... EXCRUCIATING breastfeeding.  I thought for sure I had mastitis, but my doctor insisted it was viral.  I completely forgot how much it stinks to have a fever...I can't even remember the last time I had one before this!  When the fever first hit me, I thought for sure I was dying.  I just kept thinking about how I can't leave Chris with three babies to take care of as a single dad!  But, on a happy note, now that I'm over all my physical ailments, I'm hoping things get easier.  Baby C actually slept 7 hours in a row last night and I woke up this morning feeling like a new person.  I hope that this is the start of a turning point for us!

Thank God I have had so much help.  Chris has won the #1 best dad/husband award of the year.  And his parents, my parents, and friends have also helped so much with cooking for us and taking the big kids.  To all you parents out there with little or no help, I don't know how you do it!  I admire you!

My tiny little troublemaker:

"Who, me?"

Thanks to all the help from family and friends, I have had a few good days over the last couple weeks to work on some Halloween embroidery designs.  I'll post more as I get them done.  I am also going to put in an order for toddler girls' long sleeve shirts within the next week!