11/26/10

Black Friday

Do you go out shopping on Black Friday? I avoid driving and shopping of all kinds on Black Friday. And with kids, I avoid shopping all the time, even food shopping. It stresses me out waaaaaaaay too much! I do a lot of shopping online, and I like Amazon, drugstore.com, and of course Etsy. Of course I love the thrift store and the fabric store too!

At the thrift store the other day, I found this great grey sweater with flowers on it. I cut it up and stitched it into some woolies, and I love how this pair turned out:
They are still available in my shop by clicking here, along with tons of other woolies! And I've added a shop by size feature into my sections to make it easier to find what you're looking for.

11/22/10

A Merry Fluffy Christmas

Please check out Sarah's blog, Knocked Up and Nursing, where Rebourne is one of the featured sponsors of A Merry Fluffy Christmas.
 
As quoted from A Nation of Moms, A Merry Fluffy Christmas is:

"What: A 5-day Cloth Diapering Blog Hop Giveaway event (cloth diapers, trainers, accessories)
When: December 1st -5th
Who: More than a dozen blogs are each hosting 5 prize packages, one per day for each of the 5 days
Why: Because we love our cloth diapering mamas!"

If you are a mom, do/did you cloth diaper? What is your number one reason for choosing to cloth diaper or not cloth diaper?

11/18/10

Meal Planning

One of the many things that stresses me out is dinnertime. Growing up, my mom almost always had us four kids and my dad sitting down for family dinner. We all griped, and she made the same thing all the time, but it was an important time for so many reasons.
Now I am married with kids, and I want that same tradition. Unfortunately, my husband works til 7 and has a 45+/- minute commute home. Our 3 kids are ages 4 and under, so add that all together and you get no family dinner, a crazy mama trying to make dinner, and then an even crazier mama trying to keep the peace while feeding all the cranky kids, with another hour or two til dad gets home. NOT FUN. Oh, add in that this is what my kitchen looks like (note the size and lack of dishwasher): 

Towards the end of my pregnancy, I got super stressed about this, and at one of my appointments with my midwife (therapist), she suggested Bust-a-meal.com. I was very hesitant to pay money for something that I should be able to do on my own (come up with meals, make a shopping list, and keep recipes organized), but let me tell you, it's been SO helpful. I recommend checking it out, you can get a week free if you remember to cancel your subscription before it starts charging you. It's been a lifesaver. And if you are one of those lucky iPhone owners, there's even an app for the site. My kids have even liked most of the recipes, which is saying A LOT (thank you 4 year old who won't even eat plain pasta if she's in the mood to battle).
 (I wish I was being compensated for this plug, but I'm not)
What tricks do you use to make meal planning, shopping, cooking, etc. easier and more enjoyable, whether you have kids or not?

11/16/10

Rainbow Striped Shorties

Rainy Tuesday morning, and the baby is actually NOT screaming. 2 year old Fern goes to a friend's daycare on Tuesdays, and Sage is at school for the morning. Ah, quiet, it is divine!!! Yesterday felt like a nonstop scream fest, I hope today goes better.
In the shop are these two pairs of shorties made from this extra cute and extra thick lambswool. I think they would look adorable on two little siblings, maybe for a photo shoot or something like that. The first pair is a size large, and the second pair is a size medium:

11/14/10

29 Days of Christmas

Rebourne Clothing will be participating in the 29 Days of Christmas Giveaway event! The winner of the Rebourne day will win a free pair of woolies of your choosing with free shipping to the US and Canada. Check out the site to see the other vendors that will be participating and to add the blog to your feed to get updates on the giveaways as they are posted! The event begins on Black Friday and includes the following vendors: Nifty Nappy, Sloomb/Sustainable Babyish, Mommy’s Touch, Happy Heinys, Itzy Ritzy, Leslie’s Boutique, Thirsties, Bummas, Rockin’ Green, Zoe Organics, Weleda, Ecofrugal Baby, EcoMom.com, Pure Clean B detergent, Rebourne (Etsy), Babyxpressions (Etsy), Annie’s Organics, The Little Seedling boutique, Crunchy Angel, Diaper Parties, and Episencial.

11/13/10

restock-no caps as i type while nursing the babe

even with the sometimes frustrating lack of personal time of having a newborn, i have found myself very productive with the tiny slices i get. tray always makes sure i have time to myself, and we have been blessed beyond belief with help. in my mind and heart, having a baby and not having my mom alive seemed like it was going to be horrible. and while i still miss her so much each day, there has been a big round up of support from friends, family and even strangers (well, friends of friends). tray has taken one or both of the girls with him to work, friends have watched them, my dad has taken them overnight, my brother watched them overnight, meals have been lovingly cooked, and gifts of money and sweet cards have arrived. thank you, everyone. while my mom's shoes could never be filled, i do feel her helping me and i feel god providing for us.
that being said, here are a few of the new things going into the shop as today the girls were with emily. check the shop for listings as i get to them.





11/10/10

sewing

This is what sewing looks like lately: baby strapped to me and increments of 5-15 minutes. I'll take whatever I can get.

11/7/10

Time Change

This time change is making it possible for me to list a new item and sit down to write a blog post. Tray is holding the baby in the bjorn, so my hands and body are free of baby right now! It's a miracle! That boy is attached to me 24/7 usually!
So here is the blanket I finished the other day and just listed to my shop. The wool is a bolt end and the cotton is from the thrift store. The material I used to make the bias tape is from my mom's stash that I inherited.
Etsy listing here

My mom taught me how to sew when I was about 5, and when I was an adult she taught me how to hand quilt. She made some incredibly beautiful quilts in her days, and I thought a lot about her as I was crafting this blanket. (The "quilting" on this blanket was done by machine to keep the cost down-hand quilting takes forever)